Jaune Arc: Heir of Fire
by Thiriston
Summary: Jaune's love of the Souls-borne series has given him immense ability with weapons of all kinds, but alas his skill with Crocea Mors lacking, his true potential lay untouched, that is until a fateful delivery from home signals the change from an incompetent knight, to a Hunter and a true Lord of Cinder.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Academy of Beacon is one of the most prestigious places to learn the trade of the protectors of Remnant, stalwart warriors of hope to the people of their respective cities. However one particular Huntsman-in-training struggles to endure and meet the expectations of both his teachers and his peers, this is none other than Jaune Arc, unlike other students he cheated his way into the advanced combat school and had no pre-cursor training to back him up, only his family heirloom was his source of protection.

Or so you think

You see, the Arc family is home to its matriarch Juniper Arc and its patriarch Noah as well as seven sisters varying in age with Jaune as the sole male child of the family, unbeknownst to the world that Jaune is actually a very competent fighter, taught by his father and his elder sisters: Olivia, Rosemary, and with much hesitation Bianca they taught him how to fight with various weapons, but in his naivety he sought to master the shield and sword the bread and butter weapons of a romanticized knight and for some Oum forsaken reason could not wield them as effectively as other weapons he was trained with.

In his adolescence at around 12 years old he fell in love with the game 'Dark Souls' he held a particular fondness for the bosses mesmerised by their designs, combat, elusive backstories and fighting style, and in later years finished the entire series by the time he reached 17 years old. During this time his sisters picked up his fondness for the game and as birthday gifts from each of them they sought the best weapon smiths to create replicas of their brothers' beloved characters from the 'Capra Demon' all the way to the final one in the series 'Slave Knight Gael'.

He also took interest in Bloodborne, reveling in its fast pace, make or break game play. It too had a special place in his heart, particularly characters such as the world weary Gehrman, the lovable Doll, the motherly Eileen.

He trained himself to fight just like them as soon as possible, and aided by his elder sisters he became strong enough to wield the replicas that were so lovingly crafted for him, but he yearned to wield a sword and shield just as his Undead had when facing against the mighty foes he sought to mirror, but to no avail. This left him disheartened and shattered his childlike naivety for a time, but his determination and tenacity that he had developed over the years had hardened his resolve to titanite and so he left home with Crocea Mors with the support of his sisters at his side to become a Huntsman and finally train to learn the art of sword and board from people beyond the household and uphold the legacy of his ancestors.

Much to his foolishness however he forgot to bring the boss-inspired weapons with him on his journey and so his first few terms of Beacon were a struggle especially in combat classes, even with help from the 'Invincible Girl' Pyrrha Nikos he just couldn't keep up with everyone else despite his prior training, and it is only until recently that Oum decided to give him chance, through the mailing of a large box of from home

I'll leave it for you my dear readers to decipher what's inside….

Hehehe

It was a calm Friday afternoon in the dorm room of team JNPR, Lie Ren sat on his bed reading through his textbooks switching to his exercise books to jot down a couple notes here and there and his long-time friend Nora Valkyrie was in the bathroom freshening herself up for dinner as the both of them had combat classes prior to the end of the school day.

"Renny!?" Nora called from the closed bathroom door

Ren hesitantly shut his exercise book to address his friend

"Yes? What is it Nora?" he exclaimed in reply

"Do you know where Jaune and Pyrrha are?" she called back

"They said that they'd be staying back for some more training remember?" he said

"Oh, right Hehehe sorry Ren!" she chirped

"It's alright Nora" he sighed rubbing his cheek tiredly, as he was about to return to his notetaking however he heard a knock on the door.

'That must be them' Ren mused internally, relinquishing himself from his bed he strode to the door and opened the door expecting to see the other half of team JNPR to be standing there.

What he got however was a large cardboard box a single sticker sat neatly on the corner detailing shipping, taxes and address.

It was addressed to Jaune Arc

Ren's eyes briefly widened in surprise, scanning the hallway for anyone around the corridors expecting it to be a prank of some sort, with a sigh he dragged it into the dorm, as he finished dragging the box and leaving it to the side of Jaune's bed he heard the bathroom door open, Nora strode out in casual sleepwear a cheesy grin plastered to her face.

"Ren, what's that?" she asked

"Mail" he said

"Who's it for? OH is it for me?" Nora squealed jumping eagerly on the spot

"No" he said monotonously "it says here that it's addressed to Jaune"

"Aww" she sagged dramatically "What's inside?"

"I have no idea, and it is rude to open mail that is not addressed to you Nora so we will wait for him to return from training" he deadpanned

Nora could only reply with an audible huff crossing her arms and looking sideways and obvious pout on her face.

"You're no fun Renny!" she whined

The door knocked again and their discussion was automatically extinguished, Nora giddily ran to the door also expecting to see their fearless leader and cereal girl at the door, instead it was team RWBY assembled at the entrance.

"Heya Girls!" Nora greeted

"Hello there" Ren greeted as well to which Yang smiled

"Ah General Nora Valkyrie" Yang quipped with wide grin, Ren scowled at her

"Should have never joined you in that Star Wars marathon" he muttered

"Aww but Ren it was fun wasn't it?" Ruby asked innocently

"Never mind that" Weiss said dismissively "where's Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"They're out training" Ren replied "they both stayed behind after combat class"

"A shame" Weiss sighed

"Wanna join us for dinner?" Yang asked "we're all ready to go, and I want first dibs on the Friday special!"

"Sure why not?" Nora cheered

"I'll stay back" Ren said "I'll join you all later with Pyrrha and Jaune, whenever they finish"

"We can wait" Ruby smiled "We all have to stick together"

"Yeah" Yang grinned mischievously "I wanna find out what kind of 'training' they're up to"

"YANG!" Ruby shouted indignantly, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment

"I'm joking Rubes" Yang laughed

Blake finally decided to join in on the conversation, knowing that she would have to wait for dinner"

"Mind if I ask what's in the box?" the Ninja girl asked

"It's for Jaune, it's not my place to open it" Ren replied

"I see" she nodded her head

Curiosity piqued, Yang had already entered the room observing the sides of the box and sticker tag with a quirked brow.

"Okay now I'm interested" Yang stated "Who else wants to open it?"

"I DO!" Ruby and Nora shouted in agreement

"Dammit Nora" Ren cursed silently

"YANG!" Weiss yelled "don't touch that, as much as I abhor Jaune, even I wouldn't go looking around his own personal property"

"Oh hush Weiss" Yang quipped "You know you're curious too"

"Shut Up!" the Ice Queen fumed

"Gotcha" she grinned as she already began tearing off the packaging tape, and with a dramatic pull lifted the folds of the box open

"What's inside?" Ruby questioned hastily "I wanna know!"

"Huh not what I expected" the blonde brawler said a hint of disappointment in her voice

"Tell us!" the girls hissed eagerly

"There's weapons in here" she replied simply to which they responded with a collective 'huh' except for Ruby who seemingly teleported to the box and was quickly pulling out each weapon and laying it carefully laying it on the floor with care.

To the surprise of everyone, the collection was astounding they ranged from various weapons of size and design. Ruby was particularly interested in a simple gleaming scythe a shorter pole was tied to the scythe with a purple ribbon and a card was attached to it, gazing closely at the handle of the scythe she could make out a single word.

'Friede' she murmured all the others turned their heads to the red reaper

"What?" Weiss asked

"The scythe's name is Friede" Ruby repeated

"Interesting name" Weiss mused as she picked up a pair of thin curved swords, the blades' colour varied one was a light purple and the other a saturated orange, like fire. She ran her fingers along the handle also finding a name etched into the metal.

'Boreal' she said to herself then looked at the purple counterpart 'Dancer'

Blake quirked her brow at a large black great sword, attached to its bottom was a dagger, she corrected herself, a parry knife judging by the curved nature of its blade as well as the metal just that stuck out from where it emerged from the handle, etched onto the flat of the blade on both sides was the word 'Farron'

Nora was interested in a gigantic cleaver, the handle was of curved wood as thick as a matured tree branch that ran along the spine of the weapon, a notch was cut out of the blade where a hand could fit easily as a secondary handle, its name was 'Yhorm'

There were so many weapons that were neatly packed into the box that the group silently agreed to not take out all of them at once.

"These are all so COOL" Ruby squealed as she cradled a beautiful golden ceremonial great sword in her arms, idly running her fingers over the intricate carvings of the blade.

"What do these have to do with Jaune though?" Yang wondered as she stared at a pair of cruel paired great swords named 'Capra'

"Well why don't we look at the cards attached to each of them?" Ruby suggested as she continued to play with a beautiful deep black greatsword named 'Artorias' she could barely lift the blade herself as she hefted it onto her shoulder.

"That is out of the question Ruby" Weiss growled "This is all Jaune's property, we shouldn't be even touching these in the first place, nor should we even consider prying into his private life"

"Aww look at you Ice Queen" Yang giggled "And I thought you hated him, look at you defending him maybe you do like him after all~"

"Its common sense Yang" Weiss groused "how would you like it if I decided to take your scroll and started poking around at all your e-mails?"

"Do that and you're as good as dead" Yang threatened

"Exactly my point"

"Yeah, Yeah you made your point Ice Queen" Yang relented "pack it up girls, especially you Ruby"

Ruby's eyes widened in horror

"NO!" she yelled "I wanna look at all of them" she protested "They'll get lonely without me!"

"Ruby" her elder sister reasoned "You can have a look at them later, we all still have to have dinner"

"B-but I" she whined again, but her stomach decided to voice its own opinion by growling audibly for all to hear

"Aww fine" She pouted as she relinquished her hold on 'Artorias'

As fate would have it though as soon as they started returning the first round of the numerous weapons scattered on the floor, Jaune and Pyrrha entered the abandoned, open doorway.

"Oh uh Hello girls" Jaune greeted awkwardly "What are you all doing here?"

All people present in the room flinched and stiffened to the sound of his voice, except Ren who was sitting in the corner back to note taking.

Ruby was frozen stiff as a statue hesitantly looking to the heavy blade that lay before Jaune's eyes

"Is that…" he started

"Uh No it's uh nothing Jaune" Ruby played off quickly dragging the sword behind her, oblivious to the fact that the whole handle stood at least a couple heads higher than her.

"Artorias?" Jaune finished off as he tried to get a better look at the object Ruby was desperately trying to obscure with her petite form.

"NO!" the girls shouted collectively, Weiss face palmed

"I apologise Jaune, curiosity got the best off us and we all started looking through this box that arrived here not too long ago" she explained "it was addressed to you"

"I… see" he said as he deftly took Artorias from the reaper's grip making her whine in melancholy

"It's good to see you old friend" he smiled letting his hand wander along the length of the massive greatsword, he noticed the card that was innocently strung around the cross guard by two ribbons, unravelling the card slowly he opened it and began to read.

The girls watched in silence as a myriad of emotions crossed his face as he read, thankfully they were all positive emotions, and finishing the reading of the card he put it down and sat, contemplating the words that the girls did not hear

"I'm really sorry" Ruby whispered "I didn't mean to touch your weapons"

"I-It's alright Ruby" Jaune replied he didn't turn his head to her but they could hear that his voice was shaky "You guys head off to dinner….I, I need some time to myself"

With a solemn nod, Weiss and Yang began to shepherd the others out to the corridor, Ren left his perch and gave Jaune a reassuring pat on the shoulder, he turned and gave him a nod of appreciation, tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

Ren nodded in silent understanding, He motioned for Pyrrha to follow despite the silent protests she followed, giving Jaune one final longing glance before closing the door.

Jaune returned to the box and began taking out each weapon, slowly and gently. Reading each card and cradling them close like a mother would a child as he cried.

One card, already read lay open underneath the moon, the ink illuminated by the guiding moonlight.

 _Dear Jaune_

 _It's been a while little bro, you forgot to bring these with you to Beacon so we all decided to pack them up for you and send them all in one go. We miss you all so much and we hope you are doing well despite the hard times I know you're having using that old sword and shield, We wish you luck and joy in your time in Beacon and hope that you've made lots of good friends and teammates, and maybe when the years done and dusted you can come and visit us in the holidays? Aqua and Jade miss you so very much…._

 _Karen did some modifications to your weapons while you were gone so you can use them in Huntsman fights, maybe we can see you use one of these during the Vytal Tournament, wouldn't that be awesome?_

 _Anyway, we all love you and miss you (especially Bianca, she can't stop worrying about you) and we hope to hear from you soon, have fun and kick ass with these okay?_

 _Love your Older sister- Olivia Arc_

 _XOXOXO_

As the moonlight spread through the window panes, one large greatsword lay, mummified in linen wrappings the entombed blade glowed a mystical blue and humed sweetly like a lullaby, it's glow was beautiful to any that were there to view it, but alas Jaune was already asleep his upper body embraced the head of a large mace and his light breathing the only sound to be heard in the dorm room of team JNPR.


	2. Chapter 1: The Abyss Watcher

Jaune awoke the next morning, tired and weary from his night of weeping he groggily removed himself from the head of 'Vordt' he suddenly felt something all off of him, he turned his head to see that someone had draped his blanket around him during his sleep. He turned his head to notice Pyrrha who lay splayed out on her belly, her arm hung from the bed but in arms reach of his hair. He smiled briefly and took it upon himself (despite the awkwardness) and readjusted her position on her bed before pulling up the covers onto her sleeping form.

She shifted uneasily and turned onto her back, obvious signs of discomfort riddled on her face. As a sign of thanks for the respect she showed him the night before, he gently leaned over and layed a soft kiss on her forehead, His little sister Jade loved it when he did that to her to 'ease' her nightmares so he figured it would work in this situation as well, at once she seemed to ease and a pleased smile graced her face.

'Jaune…' She mumbled

Blushing in embarrassment, our loveable goofball left the room hastily to fix himself breakfast splashing himself in the face with cold water to freshen himself up. He strode over to his box of mailed goods and went to work mecha-shifting each weapon into its condensed form as quietly as possible, as he finished the last of his items, other memorabilia were left behind in the box, deciding to leave it for later he lay the myriad of items onto his bed, stuffed his 'Heirs of Fire' into a duffle bag and went for breakfast.

The meal was simple, two slices of toasted bread with butter, two sunny-side up eggs, three rashers of bacon a hash brown and some morning juice to start off his day and yet he devoured them ravenously, considering that he hadn't eaten dinner this was to be expected. Bringing his tray to on the rack he decided to make his way to the practice arena, duffle bag in tow.

He unpacked a selection of some of his favorite weapons on the teacher's desk which consisted of

Gael (Cloak, Greatsword and a crossbow)

Artorias (Greatsword)

Firelink (multiform weapon)

Friede (Double Scythes)

Alonne (Nagamaki)

Moonlight (Greatsword, Blunderbuss)

He started off with Friede, with weapon scythe in both hands he set out re-familiarising himself with its move set, swinging the large scythe in graceful arcs aiming each strike at around the neck the light weighted weapon made for easy dodging and graceful precision with each swing, the shorter pole was strapped to his forearm finishing a basic combo, he let the shorter scythe form with click of a switch along the grip the blade snapping upward, then with a click on a second switch both scythes glowed with a boreal hue then he took up a stance, both weapons held behind him in an attempt at a menacing display before unleashing the signature combo of the sole sister of Ariendel.

A swipe with the shorter scythe followed by a spin using the momentum to bring the great scythe into an overhead cleave from left to right, with an unexpected anti-clockwise turn bringing the shorter scythe again swinging right to left with the larger scythe following suit, he paused expecting his invisble foe to raise his shield, then finished it off with a rising lift from the shorter followed by a downward hack by the larger.

He remembered using it on his eldest sister Bianca for the first time in their training spars, boy was she surprised by it, she commended him for the effort into learning such a complex move, but in the end, Bianca being the elder and more experienced fighter, she won out.

Jaune knew that using Crocea Mors would be the crux of his time here in Beacon, so he decided to leave the sword-shield combo in his locker for the time being, and for now his focus became on reimmersing himself with these weapons to get himself back to speed with the others, he knew that Combat Class was first lesson he had every weekly cycle, so with goal set he set out changing weapons each half hour so that he could have equal experience with all weapons, and therefore he could be better prepared for whatever student he would be pitted against on Monday morning.

It was noon by the time he had finished practicing with all of his favorites, drenched in sweat he fished his water bottle out from his duffle bag and took some hasty sips before returning it to his bag, he noticed someone holding out a small towel, with a hasty thank he wiped his face and neck clean.

Wait, someone

Jaune visually paled as he slowly lifted his gaze, silently praying to mighty Oum that it wasn't who he thought it was, as soon as green eyes met blue. The truth was revealed, he was doomed.

"Ummm hehe, H-hello Pyrrha" Jaune greeted awkwardly slowly edging backward slowly

"What's wrong, Jaune?" She asked eyes closed and a sweet innocent smile plastered on her face, Jaune could hear the barely restrained frustration in her voice as she followed him slowly.

"U-um nothing Pyrrha" Jaune replied hastily as he began to quickly pack his weapons away as quickly as he could, shivering beneath a piercing sensation that he felt in his spine that just wouldn't go away, he inwardly cringed, knowing that turning back on Pyrrha of all people was a really bad idea.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that" She asked and to Jaune's surprise, she felt no malice in his voice halting his ministrations he slowly turned to her.

"My sisters taught me how to fight" He replied simply

"Why?" She pressed on

"I've said it before haven't I?" he replied solemnly "I wanted to be a Huntsman"

"Then these weapons…" Pyrrha continued

"They were gifts to me from each of my family members, despite my obvious weakness as a fighter, they fully supported my decision to come here, I didn't want to disappoint them, I wanted to honour my father and his father before him by becoming a hunter" Jaune explained

"Then what of Crocea Mors?" Pyrrha asked a little too hastily "You, you're not going to use it anymore?" Jaune winced as he detected a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"Pyrrha, right now I need to do better than ever before in my time here in Beacon, sure the Cardin situation has pretty much been solved, but my failures in combat classes are dragging me down so badly" he reasoned "I've spent a good amount of my time as a kid, learning to use these heck I've developed entirely new fighting styles through them"

"But…" Pyrrha choked "What about our lessons together?"

He sighed casting a glance to his duffle bag

"Pyrrha, I've always taken every lesson you've given me to hear, from you I learnt how to wield a sword and shield better than anyone else in my family ever could" he confessed "I promise, we'll still do lessons together with Crocea Mors, but in class where it all counts, I need my best with me"

Pyrrha leaned back, contemplating his words slowly, with a shaky sigh she nodded to herself

"A-alright Jaune" Pyrrha smiled "I can work with that"

Jaune inwardly sighed in relief

"But" she began

Oh Crap

"I expect you to perform better in our spars" she spoke in a business like tone "expect a lot more strenuous sessions in future, Mr. Arc"

"Yes Ma'am" he instinctively shouted

"Now that's settled" she said "wanna head over for lunch?

"Sounds good to me" he replied following her out the door with his packed duffle bag

Monday had arrived

With a slight spring in his step he made his way swiftly to first class after breakfast and combat class awaited him.

The lesson was simple, pitting every student against another or possibly more, of near to or equal skill level or sometimes randomised based on Ms. Goodwitch's mood

After witnessing most of his class complete their own spars it was time for Jaune to see if his time practicing would bear fruit

"Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose" Goodwitch called "move to the locker room and get your equipment ready, you will be sparring each other today"

Ruby had already sped out the door in a flurry of rose petals, Jaune followed suit

Approaching locker 626, he took the time to address the kind of fighter Ruby Rose was.

She was a swift fighter, chaining multiple blows with her scythe to wear down her opponent punctuated by integration of her .50 cal sniper as its ranged form for bursts of high damage, one would need something of strong resilience and weight as well as speed to match her semblance and disrupt her attacks.

He settled for 'Farron' an equal weapon to match Ruby's speed, bolstered by its weight he could easily tank her attacks mid swing allowing for an easy trade with him landing the stronger blow, but 'Farron' lacked a ranged form and his Olivia's vague words didn't inspire much hope in matching range capabilities in this modern age, he had yet to awaken his own semblance which was itself a slight disadvantage, and he hoped should it ever awaken be useful to him in some way or form.

Returning to the arena quickly, Ruby had already gotten herself prepared Crescent Rose planted firmly in the ground as she watched him with (with starry eyes) as he took his place on the other side of the arena, there were murmurs from the audience as they took in the sight of Jaune's new weapon, some were able to analyse that it was a greatsword.

"Are both combatants ready?" Ms. Goodwitch asked

Ruby nodded her head, and turned her face to Jaune who stood tall, his sword arm hefted the mighty blade forward, and tearing the parry knife from its place on the pommel he took up the traditional salute of the Abyss watchers.

"Then let the match BEGIN" the teacher shouted as the aura meters of Ruby and Jaune presented themselves on screen

Ruby initiated first speeding towards him with great speed, bracing her scythe she started with a lifting slice, to which Jaune dodged sideways, his dagger-arm rigid the crooked blade pointed at her at all times. Ruby was careful and decided not to continue the assault bracing herself as the two circled each other slowly.

Jaune lunged dagger raised in the air, aiming to plunge it into her leg but the reaper leapt backward but not far enough, Jaune smirked as the blade cut into the arena and with the momentum of the leap he swung himself toward her the greatsword extended cutting a wide arc in front of him, the blade caught Ruby in the chest sending her staggering backward she recovered quickly and went for a slice from high left to low, Jaune however replied in kind instead he thrust the sword forward, catching her off guard before raising his dagger arm slicing her vertically lifting his dagger and blade one after the other before resting the greatsword on his shoulder and halting his attack and leaping backward Ruby strafed him firing shots from her scythe, Jaune deftly parried as many shots as he could with the dagger, but doing so cost him his aura with each shot regardless.

Caught off-guard Jaune took a series of blows from Ruby's Crescent rose bolstered by her semblance, Jaune was helpless against her that is until he considered the impossible, parrying her.

Enduring a few more seconds from the attacks he readied his knife, just as she was about slam her scythe onto his chest one more time, he brought his dagger up and shoved the weapon aside with as much strength as possible, and the results were perfect, Crescent Rose was shoved aside and the momentum of Ruby's swinging made it nigh impossible for her to prepare what occurred next. Jaune raised his greatsword and slashed her twice in a cross formation, he sliced her twice with the crooked parry knife then finished off by leaping, somersaulting in mid-air before bringing the blade down onto Ruby's sending her sprawling across the arena.

This new Jaune shocked the crowd, team RWBY (minus the R) and JNPR (minus the J) were shocked silent by this strange new fighting style Jaune had adopted, and it was working. Both of them were at equal levels of Aura and were nipping at each other's heels with each attack and counter-attack.

Jaune dashed sideways to avoid the swift cleaving motions of Crescent Rose, he wasn't going to make it. Most of his moves are starting to lose effectiveness, and the fluidity of Ruby's combos was difficult to power through, He needed some _support_.

Suddenly Ruby was stuck in the side but managed to recover from the blow, as she turned to face the aggressor in the middle of their duel, it was Jaune?

"Wait what?" she shouted turning her head swiftly to meet the eyes of the same person, then back at this other-Jaune.

Jaune was just as surprised as she was, but then he remembered like the original boss fight, there were always two Abyss watchers, one was a faux the other was the true boss and they'd always fight you. There was that other corrupted one that helped out every now and then, but this was different, was this his semblance?

The new Jaune took up the Legion etiquette pose before charging at her swiftly bringing his own Farron Greatsword to meet her scythe, they both connected at equal force making them rebound away from one another, seizing the opportunity Jaune lunged bringing 'Farron' into a reverse grip and aiming forward plunged into Ruby's back making her crash onto the ground, Crescent Rose skittered away.

The two Jaune's regrouped standing side by side, perhaps this was his semblance. A plan formed in his mind and the two Jaunes sprinted at her, their bodies tucked low as they sprung like wolves his clone lunged high as Ruby barely managed to parry his blade away, but was struck in the chest by a lifting strike from the true Jaune's blade sending her into the air, clone- Jaune acted quickly salvaging their plan attempt as best as it could he foot stooled off of Jaune before slamming the flat of his blade against her prone-mid-form sending her into the ground, following up Jaune squatted low bracing himself he charged at her lunging forward performing the 'Wolf Lunge' hitting her square in the chest just as she stood up, barely keeping up with their new overly aggressive fighting style, Ruby resorted to taking pot shots with her sniper rifle.

One lucky shot caught clone Jaune square in the forehead, it flew backward and onto its back it struggled to rise from the skilful shot, it did not get up again. Jaune's eyes widened watching his brother fall and dissipate into pale white mist, glancing up at the aura level meter, Ruby was dangerously low, whilst Jaune's remained at around the 40% marker.

Gripping Farron tightly he suddenly felt something off, there was a jutting metal part on the grip, tucked neatly beneath the cross-guard, he flicked it open and pressed the button, a slight droning sound was heard, and the gleaming edge of his sword glowed with heat. And fire danced and flickered along the blade, Jaune smiled in sadistic glee, he squat low and flourished his red hot blade his dagger braced for action and his switched into a determined frown mimicking the second stage stance of the Abyss Watcher.

Running towards her, he could tell that Ruby was fearful she struck at him sparingly and fired from her rifle as much as possible, using his Abyss watcher mimicry he dodged and lunged in ways no normal person could, twisting his body before lashing out with his greatsword, barely catching a hair off of our young reaper, but what caught her unaware was the after burn of his blade, each swing left marks wherever it touched, before detonating before her eyes in a blast of combusting air. She desperately dodged and weaved away from his attack and managed to land a shot on Jaune's chest bringing him down to 32%, Jaune had to be swift and merciless to finish her off.

By now the crowds were clenching their armrests and craning their necks, desperate to see the final outcome, gone was the adorkable blond knight Jaune Arc and in his place, a wolf hunting little red riding hood.

With a feral cry Jaune performed the 'Wolf Lunge' completely bringing himself closer and closer with each strike, but never making contact, and in this attempt he lost another 8% Aura, making him growl in frustration, his stamina drained by the execution of the full combo, Ruby was confident that a simple combo would be enough to finish Jaune off. Aiming Crescent rose backward she fired herself forward and gripped her scythe tightly ready to steal victory from the weary wolf.

Jaune feigned his exhausted state, taking his parry knife he reattached it to the pommel of Farron and prepared for the inevitable swing she raised her scythe high and struck down, but Jaune taking a gamble lunged at the space beneath her right arm and her body, quickly raising his blade high he brought it down along her back, Ruby took the blow swinging herself mid-air and mecha shifting Crescent Roe into its compacted sniper state and taking aim she fired at his exposed forehead.

"STOP!" Goodwitch shouted

The crowds immediately turned their attention to either their teacher or to the display screen, and all were in shock.

"The match is over" the headmistress said "Congratulation Jaune Arc, you are the winner by Aura level"

Jaune's tired eyes drifted to the display screen, his eyes widened to the size of the faux eyes of the basilisks.

He sat at 16% and Ruby had hit the red level

"An impressive display by the both of you" Goodwitch commended "return your equipment and I shall dismiss the class from there"

They both nodded and silently left the arena.


	3. Chapter 2: The Judge of Ash

Chapter 2

"What a fight" Ruby sighed in exhaustion as she slumped into the cafeteria chair, Yang was kind enough to fetch her some lunch in her tired state, While Jaune sat himself opposite her already digging into his lunch.

"Indeed" Pyrrha nodded in agreement "I saw you practice with some of your weapons before, but I didn't know they would translate so perfectly into a one on one duel"

"Aww shucks" Jaune chuckled in embarrassment putting his spoon down to scratch the back of his head "Ruby fought well too, she deserves some praise as well"

"Ruby is already a protégée for her age Jaune" his red-headed partner pressed "You however made leaps and bounds in a day, with a weapon switch of all things"

"If you're that good with that sword and dagger of yours" Ruby continued "You could totally match everyone else in combat class with anything else your family sent you!"

"Aww thanks guys" Jaune smiled brightly "You might wanna slow down though, you might make me blush"

The whole tabled burst into a fit of giggling

"Didn't take you to be so feminine Jaune" Yang teased

"I'll show you feminine later" Jaune replied "Wait till you see Boreal Dancer"

"You mean the orange and purple swords?" Weiss inquired, her eyes widened realising what she said before quickly slamming her hand over her mouth.

"I didn't think you had it in you Ice Queen" Yang purred teasingly

"You had a look too?" Jaune asked eyes wide in surprise "Well, that's surprising"

"Can't a girl be curious?" Weiss tried to reason her cheeks slowly reddening as the situation grew more and more awkward for her

"Yeah slow down Vomit Boy" Yang agreed "she's melting already"

Weiss punched her in the shoulder for that

"Shut Up!" she yelled

Pyrrha giggled at the Schnee heiress' admittedly cute display before turning her attention to Jaune

"So Jaune?" She began

"Yeah?" the boy in question answered

"Out of all your weapons sent here, which one is your favorite?" Pyrrha asked

Jaune winced, many times his siblings had asked him the very same question and was too afraid to respond considering the fact that he'd be beaten to a pulp by the others for 'favouritism'. To be honest his favorite weapon wasn't even a sword and shield set, he had to pick between the Moonlight Greatsword and Blunderbuss combo he loved using in BloodBorne or the Slave Knight Gael set.

He prayed silently to Oum and gave his answer

"I loved using the 'Gael' set" he replied with as much conviction as he could

 _Over at the Arc Household_

Violet Arc had the sudden urge to do some horrible things to Jaune, she just couldn't put a finger on why though….

Whereas the motherly second elder sister Olivia felt a sudden elated feeling in her chest, as if she were holding her little brother in her arms when he was just a baby, she missed him dearly now.

 _Back to Beacon Academy_

"What's that one?" Ruby asked eagerly her eyes wide in wonder

"Well it consists of three items" Jaune listed off holding up the respective number of fingers before folding them as he spoke.

"The first is the greatsword, it looks old and broken but it was meant to look that way, but the way that old man used it, let's just say he was an animal with it"

"The second is a repeating crossbow, it uses a disk magazine and fires in full automatic I loaded mine with explosive dust bolts for extra kick"

"The final piece is the cloak"

"Why a cloak?" Blake asked

"Well you see, in his original fight. Gael's cloak animated itself following up nearly every attack he made with his sword for extra range and damage" Jaune explained "That and it was damn cool to look at"

"How could a cloak harm someone though?" Blake asked again

"Well with a lot of practice with my sister, and some aura work" he said "I managed to get it to work, I even managed to get myself to fly, sort of" he finished hastily

"But your aura was sealed when you came here" Pyrrha recalled

"My…mother sealed it when I left home" He sighed

"Wait why?"

Jaune blushed before mumbling something incoherent

"What was that?" Yang asked "did you say something? Speak up then"

"Mum…wnt….fnd…wf" he mumbled sinking into his seat even further

"Come on Jauney" Yang sang "Tell us"

"Tell us, tell us, tell us, tell us" Yang, Nora and Ruby started chanting

"MY MOTHER WANTED SOMONE ELSE TO UNLOCK IT, PREFERABLY A GIRL!" Jaune motor boated at the top of his lungs

"What? Wha-Ooooooh" Yang realised "I know where this is going" she added with a sultry grin

"What's that mean Yang?" Ruby said as she tilted her head in confusion, oh sweet Ruby never ever change please.

"I didn't think you as someone who followed old traditions" Weiss coughed

"Well you learn something new every day I guess" Nora added awkwardly

Pyrrha was silent however, staring deeply into her food tray as it was the most intriguing thing in the world, but the bright red tinge to her ears told a different story.

"Wait, Pyrrha don't tell me you unsealed his Aura!?" Weiss' eyes widened

"I-I-I did Weiss..." Pyrrha conceded shakily "H-h-how was he supposed t-to survive initiation without it?" she finished quickly

"Fair enough I guess" Yang agreed nodding her head "doesn't explain why you're blushing though"

"I-I-I AM NOT" Pyrrha yelled indignantly ironically making her cheeks redder and redder

"Jeez Pyr you don't look too good, are you alright?" Jaune commented 'smartly' "Do you have a fever? You should get that checked at the infirmary"

"N-No I-I'm fine Jaune" She stuttered quickly, hastily digging into her salad with feral gusto to avoid the teasing grins plastered on the faces of her 'friends'

"Do you know what's wrong with Pyrrha?" Jaune questioned absentmindedly

"Aww he's fine Jauney" Nora sang "She'll feel much better as long as you stay close to her, right Yang"

"Yes" She nodded solemnly "it's the only way, no doctor, not even Aura can save her from this disease"

"That's horrible" Jaune gasped

"Quite so" Ren added sagely "She'll recover in time, these symptoms pop up every now and then, so it's not that serious"

"Phew thanks Ren, you really are smart" Jaune sighed in relief

On their side of the table all three shared a silent fist bump beneath table, smirking as they watched the shaking mess that was formerly Mistral Champion.

And with that the bell rang, signalling the end of their break, with a collective disappointed sigh they all made their way to next class.

(Line Break)

Lessons finished for the day and teams JNPR and RWBY returned to their respective dorms to turn in for the day, Jaune had taken it upon himself to start decorating his side of the dorm with the memorabilia sent from home, they were mostly posters and photos from home, a USB stick containing his music collection, a lovely 'Good Hunter' statuette and an Estus Glass.

He started hanging his posters on the wall beside his bed, most of them were actually motivational posters that had a Souls borne theme to it, after sorting those out he began constructing a collage of his family photos, he smiled fondly as he stepped back to admire his work.

"Doing some decorating?" A calmer Pyrrha asked

"Mhm" he hummed "turned out quite nicely too, now for my music collection"

Quickly plugging in the stick, he started the transfer of his music files onto his school issued scroll for later on.

"So" Pyrrha began awkwardly "Today was interesting"

"It was, yeah" Jaune nodded

"So the 'boss' you were mimicking today, did he also fight with another?" She asked obviously trying to make conversation

"Yeah he did, there were always two Abyss watchers fighting you in the first phase" he replied as he filled his estus glass with water, ignoring the fact that the glass glowed a bright sunny yellow, taking a sip he continued

"First phase?" Pyrrha asked

"Bosses in Dark Souls like other bosses are unique in every way" he explained putting the glass down "The Abyss watchers have a 'two' phase fight, when I was fighting with my clone that was the closest thing to the first phase"

"Really? That's pretty cool" she smiled

"When my sword went on fire that was similar to the second phase" he continued folding his arms in front of his chest

"So killing your clone was the trigger?" she inquired

"Um no, first you had to defeat the real boss, then he would return to full health again and the 2nd phase will occur" He lectured

"Ah ok, that makes things clearer now" Pyrrha hummed in realisation

"To be honest, I just discovered the dust function on the sword just then" he commented off-handedly

"Well it put on quite a show" the Mistral Champion giggled

Jaune chuckled turning his attention to the clock that hung on the wall, he finished his glass of water he bid Pyrrha goodnight and rested for the day.

(Line Break)

The next day's lessons were as monotonous as they could be, with combat classes lingering in the minds of everyone yearning to get their restless legs moving about, Jaune was no exception idly tapping his feet beneath his desk taking down notes from Professor Ports' Grimm studies lesson, in his opinion he saw professor Port as a wise and knowledgeable teacher who knew his trade well, but unfortunately in his age he had a tendency to go off tangents, and it took the prompting of other students to get him back on track it happened every lesson but it was refreshing at times, especially around exam weeks, he could tell that the old codger was trying to put them at ease with his embellished tales of his own youth and he respected him for that.

Oobleck's lessons however were quite the opposite, lots of brusque note-taking and therefore handwriting speed were required for the best notes that were verbalised from the ungodly motor mouth that belonged to the good 'Doctor', one could easily tell that he had a passion for History with frequent pop-quizzes to keep Jaune and his peers on their toes and fort-nightly essays to complete he was one with high expectations but was willing to slow down if others were lagging behind.

Goodwitch was always in charge of team missions and combat classes, she was as strict as they come, but stemmed from a desire to ensure their security and nurture the abilities of her students to the best of their ability, despite the harshness he received in his early terms for his failure in numerous physical exams Goodwitch supported him as well as his training sessions with Pyrrha strongly. To be clear, she kind of acted like a stringent mother, cleaning up after your messes and providing harsh but fair criticism, to encourage you to try harder and harder and to never rest on your laurels.

Combat classes had finally arrived after lunch, and many eyes glanced over to Jaune, probably trying to gauge what surprise the blonde will have in store for them this time, Jaune however was very conflicted there were so many possible match-ups that could occur, and so many weapon choices haphazardly stuffed in his locker that could deal with these situations, and with the identification of his semblance as duplication, the possibilities were endless.

When Jaune was finally called up to fight he was put up against, the one person that made his first few terms in Beacon the most miserable in his life, Cardin Winchester. Jaune knew that sometimes he was too kind for his own good, especially considering the times he was roped up into their despicable work he betrayed the trust of his team on those days, the bully that made him feel so helpless and alone would finally receive the revenge he had planned for a long, long time

He clenched his fists, knuckles straining at the bad memories that surged into his mind, stoically and silently he made his way to his locker. Pyrrha noticed his distress and made a silent prayer for things to turn out okay.

Jaune re-entered the arena, in his hand was what looked like a singular worn hand hacker, but as he took his place on the stage he twisted the handle and a large spiralling pole shot out revealing its true form as a halberd, his eyes hardened into a scowl.

Cardin took his place opposite, a cocky grin stretched across his blocky face, oh how he wanted to break his bravado badly, for today Jaune would be his judge, jury and executioner.

With a shout Cardin charged, his large bulk betraying his true swiftness Jaune barely had time to register before being sent sprawling with a clean hit that sent shockwaves through his core, coughing from the pain Jaune stood up, taking up a stance he prepared once more and he would be prepared this time.

His ears barely caught the words of encouragement Team RWBY shouted him, he smiled as he saw little Ruby with inflatable hands attached to her limbs as she frantically cheered him on.

Jaune took the initiative with renewed confidence Jaune charged towards him head forward and his weapon dragged behind and aloft the ground, Cardin unconfident and unfamiliar with this new Jaune raised his mace and took up a stance reminiscent of a batter in a game of baseball, his arms braced for the swing to follow when but two meters separated the two combatants Jaune's feet shifted the momentum gained from his sprint allowing for the movement to follow through smoothly and with grace unbefitting of our beloved 'blond knight', spinning mid step he braced his right leg, the muscles within coiled like a viper, shifting himself so that the impending attack would be aimed for his upper body he unleashed a mighty kick against Cardin's open form.

The kick was a clean, swift blow sending the armored bully skidding across the floor on his back, he groggily stood up winded but still able to continue, as it occurred however he was not able to comprehend that Jaune had already strafed to his right, following up his assault with a strong shove with his shoulder sending him staggering backward, Cardin quickly recovered diving sideways to avoid the cleaving motions of Jaune's new weapon.

Making distance he began unleashing lines of explosive dust to halt another direct charge, Jaune kept his distance and the two started circling each other, Cardin's face pulled into an ugly snarl as Jaune maintained his grim determined frown, Both parties lunged and their weapons clashed in a bright flash of steel against steel, Cardin easily the physically stronger fighter pushed Jaune backward slowly, his sneaker's failing to provide grip as he slid backward with a heave Jaune was thrown upward before being slammed into the ground with a sickening crack, Jaune growled in frustration and pain as he dragged himself to his feet, his tenacity was endearing but it seemed Cardin was still stronger.

But not for long.

Jaune flourished the steel in his hand, and unleashed a mighty battle cry, his blue eyes seemed to glow faintly as trails of light were left in his every subtle movement. Cardin flinched at the display, he was actually intimidated by the very nerd that he could easily wreck back in first term, but this wasn't first term anymore, and this Jaune isn't having none of it.

Not wanting to find out the hard way he closed the distance firing off more explosives at Jaune's face and upper chest to dissuade him from performing any attacks, unperturbed he met him with a slight jump before breaking into a run before he could initiate with his mace, Jaune twisted his body mid-step the halberd following suit and before he knew it Cardin was sent sprawling on the floor by the force of Jaune's spin.

He grunted as he rolled across the ground, coming to a stop he raised his head weakly to see that his Aura was nowhere near the level Jaune sat at currently, his pride and reputation as the 'Alpha' of the first years at stake, he stood to his feet angrily his mind clouded with anger and desperation he roared at Jaune and charged mace held high.

shifting his mace he unleashed controlled bursts of explosives at Jaune's form to which he began utilizing a combination of agility and speed to attempt to dodge his line of explosives, he winced as just over half of the volley managed to land their mark on his body, grunting he made a beeline towards his opponent in a sprint, Cardin continued to unleash explosives on Jaune as he strode towards him in a straight line, shrugging off the shrapnel he made a short leap towards him twisting his body in midair before slamming the crescent blade downward onto his bully's head, Cardin launched himself backward before the blow could connect, Jaune continued the assault holding the polearm in two hands before swiping at him, Cardin raised his arm feeling the heavy blade scrape against his bracer sending sparks flying. With seemingly supernatural recovery hastily Jaune circled to his left and struck him with a rising slash, the brute took the hit and backpedaled quickly try to get himself out of the heavy halberd's range, lunging forward he smacked at Jaune with his mace, a clean hit Jaune staggered backward a couple steps before being smashed in the face by a swing from left to right.

Jaune not wanting to concede years of experience with his sisters to a brute that had made settling into Beacon so much more difficult, slamming his fist into the ground as he repressed those bad memories that left the bitterest taste on his tongue, he stood up once more more determined than ever.

Jaune squat low and sprung high into the air, aiming his polearm with both hands ready to plunge the blade into his opponent, Jaune grunted as he made contact with the ground and it was obvious that he avoided the blow, with practiced precision he raised his halberd and swung wide, a shout of pain signaled that his weapon connected following the source he slugged Cardin with his fist and transitioning the swipe into a shoulder charge. As he reeled from his assault he raised his halberd into the air slamming the curved edge onto where he would land, and as he landed he lifted with all his might sending him skyward, noticing how low Cardin's aura was on the display, he knew he had to finish this. Pivoting on the spot he watched as Cardin tried to straighten his landing, lifting his leg high into a stomp he slammed his foot onto the ground as he connected with the ground once more, at that an explosion of force exploded from the point of contact, sending him sliding across the arena grounds until he came to a grinding halt, he did not get up

A stunned silence permeated the arena for what felt like minutes before Glynda Goodwitch finally spoke up.

"Congratulations…..Mr. A-Arc, you are the winner again" she stuttered before straightening herself up "An unprecedented but impressive display of skill and prowess with your halberd, good work to you too Cardin, there is evidence of improvement in your spar"

Jaune's cold demeanor vanished and a wide grin stretched across his face, quickly reigning in his smile he quickly went to assess his opponent, he was out cold. Scratching his cheek apologetically he turned to Ms. Goodwitch with a sigh she called for the rest of team CRDL to move their teammate to the infirmary.

Jaune couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for hurting Cardin like that, sure he was an ass back then but he had improved slowly but his bad habits would return now and then, and that really riled him up sometimes.

Leaving the arena he received nods of approval from his teammates, he glanced back at the arena one last time before leaving for the locker rooms, Gundyr in hand.


	4. Chapter 3 My Guiding Moonlight

Chapter 3: My Guiding Moonlight

Jaune's victory over Cardin spread like wildfire, and a newfound respect was forged between him and his other peers, Ruby herself was proud of Jaune's achievement and was willing to accept defeat, and she however in return wanted some private time with Jaune's collection, he relented knowing that he would likely receive the dreaded 'puppy eyes' that all younger siblings held within their genetic makeup.

And so teams JNPR and RWBY began discussing one afternoon the origin of Jaune's newfound (Or in his case resurgent skill) with other weapons, he explained his love of dark souls which inspired him to make weapons and learn the fighting styles of all the bosses in the franchise, he explained his the fight with Ruby how his moves were based off of the Abyss Watchers and promptly showed them a video on his scroll of the in-game fight, and they had to admit the resemblance was uncanny.

"So how about that copy of you?" Blake asked

"Semblance?" he replied unconvincingly

"And the glowing eyes, when you were fighting Cardin?" the Cat-Faunus pressed

After some hesitation he came up with the perfect answer

"Semblance?" he replied again, scratching his head awkwardly "It had to be coincidence that the 'clone spawning' ability was so reminiscent of the actual boss fight, the same can be said with Gundyr"

'Yes' said the collective voice of the group, but Ren being the thinking kind had other ideas.

"If semblances are representations of our personal traits" Ren said aloud "Perhaps your mastery with these weapons trigger different abilities based on the weapons you are using? Jaune try summoning a clone"

Jaune focused his mind trying to call out to that one trigger word that allowed it to appear 'support', but nothing came, again he tried to call forth his clone but all it resulted in was wasted effort and an embarrassed blonde knight.

"Hmm" Ren hummed as he picked a weapon up from the box "take these, and try thinking of something related to the character they belonged to, I have a theory"

Taking 'Capra' in his hands he tried to recollect his thoughts on the boss fight, lots of foliage, large walls, that flight of stairs, shitty camera….WAIT, the dogs!

He was shocked to hear the sound of growling, and he turned his head to see a pair of vicious hound sitting on their haunches eyeing the rest of the group warily, with no threat detected they dissipated into white mist, just like the clone had done when it perished to Ruby's bullet….

"So my theory is correct" Ren surmised "your semblance is adaptive, which is very unique as far as I know and changes in accordance to the boss you are trying to mimic, the weapons can serve as a requirement and a trigger word of some relation to the boss activates the semblance"

"Ren you're a genius" Jaune commented as he picked up a pair of swords he shuddered at the memory of their original wielder 'Pontiff Sulyvahn' and took up his stance crossing the larger greatsword over his chest and letting the shorter silver great sword's tip rest along the ground, at once the blades glowed with fire and magic, a ghostly purple replica of Jaune also appeared, and just like its game incarnation performed Jaune's thoughts before he did, putting the swords away and dissipating.

"Amazing how this ability works" he said aloud

"I KNOW RIGHT?" Nora yelled "Woah could you like mimic a sloth then?"

"I don't think that's possible" Ren deadpanned "I'm guessing Jaune has to be familiar with the figure he is imitating, going as far as to mimic their weapons and fighting style is what might have allowed his semblance to unlock itself"

"So Jaune's semblance is some advanced form of Mimicry?" Yang confirmed

"It would appear so" Blake answered for her teammate

"Let's skip semblances I wanna talk about the weapons!" Ruby interrupted excitedly to which the two teams chuckled, un-embarrassed she started rummaged through Jaune's box like a child sifting through Lego, before picking out the first thing that caught her silver eyes, a comically large golden hammer's head was heaved onto the floor with a mighty thud.

"What's this one?" the red reaper asked eagerly, her eyes sparkling

"That's Smough" Jaune laughed at the younger girl's antics "It's a Warhammer"

"Can it do anything while you're using it?" she asked again

"Not sure" he answered "I haven't really touched it until now, probably because the thing is so darn heavy"

"What kind of boss was he?" Yang cut-in

"Well he's slow and hits like a truck, you fought him alongside as speedier boss at the same time though, other than that he looked like a fat bastard" Jaune replied with a chuckle "The boss he fought with however was a nightmare, and he's called Ornstein the Dragonslayer, he used a spear with a cross-guard my sister probably implemented lightning dust onto it"

Ruby pulled out a large katana, though the handle was excessively long the teams couldn't help but marvel at its simple beauty.

"Now that's a katana" Ruby whistled appreciatively

"That's Alonne, and it's a Nagamaki" Jaune corrected

"Naga-what now?" Yang tilted her head in confusion

"It's a variant of the odachi, think of it like the great swords of the katanas" Blake interrupted "it has a larger handle for better control and range depending on where you hold it, just looking at it though it doesn't seem to have any dust mechanisms attached to it though"

"Nice to know that someone other than Ruby knows their weapons well" Jaune nodded his head in acknowledgment

From there the night turned into a game of questionnaire for the young blonde, they took turns taking out weapons from his box and asking their place of origin, to which Jaune would reply with a variety of reactions with most of them being shivers, grimaces or winces, Much to the delight of his friends.

It was refreshing for him, he felt at ease knowing that they were genuinely interested in the stories surrounding his weapons' wielders, and so it turned into a lore discussion. Ruby and Blake were particularly interested in the obscure story surrounding the Dark Souls series, to be honest Jaune was expecting that sort of reaction from them. He owed it to the representation of story in the series that caught the oft-soft spoken ninja girl as well as the tragedies that befell many characters on the Undead's harrowing journey, Ruby too shared her interest as she asked the most questions surrounding the bosses, Jaune would laugh at her reaction to some of the more grotesque beings or pat her shoulder comfortingly when he mentioned beings such as the cruel 'Pontiff' and his master Aldritch to Quelaag and the 'Fair Lady'.

He too would sigh as he recalled the tale of Yhorm the lonely giant and his tragic end by the blade of his only friend, Siegward of Catarina. He caught a slight sniffle from the reaper and surprisingly the Ice Queen as he recalled his battle with Sif, he remembered nearly crying watching it limp and whimper as the sword he wielded caked its steely-grey and alabaster white fur with blood and dirt tarnishing its purity, despite this it would still keep fighting swinging the umbra black blade that it held in its jaws as it faithfully defended the grave of its fallen master, to the bitter end.

Yang saw her distress and shuffled over to her half-sister's side, she leaned in closer whispering soothing words to the sad little reaper, patting her back in twos similar to the rhythm of a heart beat and from the looks of it her ministrations slowly soothed the 15 year old girl into a calmer state but still noticeably solemn, checking the clock quickly he noticed it was already quite late and decided to call it in for the day. Yang gently guided her sister out of the room and gave a melancholic smile to the team and mouthed a goodnight to team JNPR, Blake and Weiss took their leave as well saying their goodbyes before closing the door.

"Well, that ended well" Jaune sighed tiredly "I, didn't mean get that sort of reaction out of Ruby"

"It's alright" Pyrrha soothed airily as se patted his shoulder "I'm sure a game with the words 'Dark Souls' as its title implied no happy endings for anyone"

"True" he conceded after some hesitation

"I'll be off to bed" Pyrrha said quickly "See you in the morning, Jaune"

"Yeah, goodnight Pyr" Jaune called back

And with that his partner climbed into her bed and all was silent in the room of team JNPR, Jaune stayed up for a while, tending to his weapons despite how clean they were on arrival, he took an old shirt meant for the laundry and doused it in water and began wiping his collection. Nicks and scrapes marred the seemingly flawless masterworks that belonged to the blonde knight, after all a knight in shining armour is a man who's never tested his metal says the poster on his wall, he turned his head to see the Moonlight Great sword, the long-running reference weapon that all of the developer's games had in its arsenal as an easter egg, its gentle glow lightly penetrated through the linen wrappings that hugged its mummified form, it was his favourite weapon when he picked up BloodBorne. And refused to use any other weapon ever since he retrieved it from Ludwig, the Holy Blade.

Liberating the weapon from its cloth prison he ran his palm along the flat of its humming surface, revelling in the slow, gentle pulses of blue that danced and swirled lazily, he wrapped the blade up once more and slid it underneath his bed, as to not disturb his teammates from sleep any longer than necessary, sliding into bed he pulled the covers up and dreamt a Hunter's Dream.

(Line Break)

The next day, team JNPR and RWBY were disappointed to see that it was pouring rain outside many of them had plans to go out into Vale for their own personal reasons, Ruby wanted to restock on her ammo supplies for Crescent Rose and pass by the bakery on the way back for some cookies, Blake yearned to hit up the book shop but was shocked to discover that Tukson's Book Trade was down for business, permanently. Yang wanted to relax at Junior's club despite the fact that she had destroyed it on her first visit, her reasoning 'They made good Strawberry Sunrises' to which Weiss grumbled incoherently, she wanted to go get some tune-ups for Myrtenaster and more dust cartridges with Ruby.

On JNPR's side, Ren wanted to visit a newly opened tea shop, and wanted to buy some boxes for himself as he disapproved of the generic brand provided at Beacon, Nora wanted to go along with Ren anyway despite absolutely hating tea and yet she still argued that they weren't 'together, together'. Jaune wasn't interested in going out today, he wanted to stay back and write letters as he promised to his family as he said 'An Arc never goes back on his word, even to his own family' Pyrrha too had no plans and wanted to stay with Jaune, with no ulterior motives whatsoever as she so politely put it, receiving suspicious glances from her female friends.

Jaune sat on his bed, scroll expanded across his lap, typing on the on-screen keyboard, Pyrrha noted that every time he finished a letter he would lean back and sigh exasperatedly, and would fume and grumble to himself every time he received a reply within seconds of sending it, much to her amusement.

Jealousy lingered in her gut as she read the e-mails over her partner's shoulder, she was jealous in that the only e-mails she's ever received were from fans, begging for friend requests and knowing that if she accepted they'd never actually communicate, she tried to suppress her melancholy but let out an audible sigh, her parents hardly communicated to her and the only message she had received lately was a farewell and good luck e-mail from her Mum and Dad, but when she responded, they never returned.

"You alright Pyrrha?" Jaune asked "You seem out of it"

"I-I'm fine Jaune" She replied quickly shaking her head

"You sure?" he pressed "You look sad"

Pyrrha thought that she should just play it off, but the yearning to be with her partner and participate with him in his task was too inviting, part of her wanted to return to her solemn vigil, but a stronger feeling surged forth purging those bad thoughts away, if she wanted something done, she was going to try regardless of the consequences.

"Can I be honest with you Jaune?" she asked

"Of course Pyrrha" Jaune "What's up?"

"I'm jealous of you Jaune" she confessed motioning to his scroll "You can easily interact with anyone you come across, whilst I" she paused "I just can't seem to make any long term relationships with anyone, all they see is someone who's only good at being viewed on a pedestal, something to be admired something to be jealous of".

"That's not true Pyrrha" Jaune countered "You have us, your team and your friends from Team RWBY"

"That's not the point" she sighed "You have family, people you can really talk to, to share a laugh, a smile, and a cry even"

"What about your parents?" Jaune offered

"They've never said a word to me once I left Mistral to go to Beacon" She said as her head drooped slightly "All they said was good luck, and make us proud they never cared about my social life, I just want to be like you, normal".

"Well, to be honesty you're already doing it" Jaune encouraged "Look around you, no one really cares that you're the 3rd time Champion of whateverwhatsit, everyone's settled down into classes now, they've got bigger worries than being in the presence of Cereal girl"

She punched him lightly in the shoulder for using that nickname, She hated it when he used that nickname, only Pyr was applicable to her, at the back of his mind he always wondered why.

"Okay, I deserved that" Jaune faux winced in pain

"Yes, yes you did" Pyrrha confirmed as she tried to hide the ever-growing smirk on her face, with nothing really to say they both chuckled awkwardly.

Jaune noticed that the clouds had started clearing through the dorm window, the sun just peeking through the curtains of grey that slid across the sky, Jaune had a really stupid idea brewing in his mind, but if it meant making Pyrrha feel better, it was worth it.

Throwing open the window, he took a deep breath, shifted his feet as close together as possible and raised his arms slowly, once they reached the point that he looked like a human letter 'Y' he shouted with all his might

'PRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAISE THE SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!'

After a few moments, he heard muffled giggling before breaking down into full-blown laughter, Jaune collapsed from his pose, internally commenting that his Sunbrother would be proud, he turned to see Pyrrha red in the face, clutching her belly as she laughed uproariously at how ridiculous her partner looked at that moment.

Jaune joined in, laughing at his own embarrassment and the contagious nature of happiness, they laughed together for several minutes before it dissipated into soft giggles, snorts and smirks.

"Thanks Jaune" Pyrrha giggled again wiping a tear that threatened to fall down her cheek "I really needed that"

"I could tell you did" Jaune chuckled in reply scratching behind his head again in embarrassment "But I'm glad to see you feeling better Pyr"

She was positively beaming as he finished his sentence, Jaune tilted his head in confusion at his partner's sudden mood jump, must be a girl thing he thought.

Their moment however was interrupted by the door to their dorm room being forced open with brutal force, with Yang and Ruby standing at the doorway.

"Have you two seen Blake come through here?" Yang asked desperately

"Why? What happened?" Jaune asked gravely

"She and Blake had an argument" Ruby explained

"What about?" Jaune pressed

"That's beside the point, we need to find her and whether Weiss likes it or not she's coming with us!" Yang growled as she talked off back to her dorm room

"Please" Ruby pleaded "We really need your help, the more people out there looking for her the better chance of us finding her"

"That's true" Pyrrha agreed

"Alright we'll meet you at the front in a few minutes" Jaune nodded rushing off to his lockers dutifully

Opening his locker door he had come to a startling revelation, he had no idea which weapon to bring with him in case of danger, clutching his head he wandered around the locker room his mind wracking itself to account for so many possible dangerous situations that they might come across, coming to a conclusion he took his Hunter's Blunderbuss then he ran back to his bedroom, quickly grasping the linen wrapped sword in his hands before strapping the large blade across his back

Making his way to the outside lobby of Beacon academy he and Pyrrha clad in her signature bronze armour, spear and shield tucked on her back, while Jaune had The Holy Moonlight sword slung across his back making appear deceptively intimidating despite the good natured personality he is well known for.

"You ready?" Jaune turned to his partner

She nodded, a flurry of wind was heard and they both turned to see Yang, Ruby and Weiss (albeit very unamused) standing there, they acknowledged each other with a nod before making their way to the nearest available Bullhead, before quickly jumping aboard Yang had to drag our lovable blonde knight aboard as the weight of the swords made it difficult for him to jump on, that and Jaune's apprehension towards air travel.

After a few minutes of flight time and a dry heave from Jaune on landing, they all agreed to splitting up to find RWBY's missing teammate, Yang went for the main streets and central areas, Weiss and Ruby took to the shopping districts and Pyrrha and Jaune went looking in the industrial areas on the outskirts of Vale.

Jaune and Pyrrha searched high and low across the industrial district, they asked a few passers-by if they've seen a black haired girl with a bow, they could only apologise and shake their heads before continuing on their way, they did this for nearly half an hour before a massive explosion rocked the two teammates' ears the source of it came from the warehouse areas just by the docks, unsheathing their weapons the two followed the source of the commotion.

Approaching the loading bay, they were surprised to see an Atlesian Paladin fighting off some huntsman, but on closer inspection the two realised it was Ruby Rose, Weiss and Yang and Blake fighting off the Paladin that was being assisted by a few smaller figures, but the notorious masks and symbols automatically defining them as White Fang.

The two members of Team JNPR turned and nodded at each other, trusting in their partner's ability they both charged into the fray, Pyrrha being the faster one initiated her fight against the Faunus terrorists whilst Jaune followed behind freeing the wrapped blade to reveal a slender blade of antiquity, yet a deadly present lurked beneath its unassuming shape.

Jaune dragged his sword across the floor sending sparks flying into the air as he swerved away from the melee that a monkey Faunus, a peculiar red-headed girl and a blonde brawler were participating in and charged towards the Paladin.

Only to be stopped as a figure stood in his way forcing him to instinctively halt his charge, coming face to face (well rather face to head) with a petite lady, her hair a mixture of the colours pink and brown, complimented by a pale white jacket, his first thoughts instantly shifted to Neapolitan ice cream of all things, but his thoughts were interrupted as he was thrown onto the floor by the small lady.

Jaune stood up quickly to address his aggressor, he hunched low letting the great-sword rest on his shoulder his eyes fixated upon his opponent, the cocky smirk on her face was off-putting especially as it shifted into a cruel sadistic grin as his opponent twirled her umbrella resting it on her shoulder, performing the universal 'come hither' gesture with her free hand.

Jaune thrusted the large blade, but with deft skill the smaller fighter easily parried the strike, punishing him with a kick to the chest before lifting her other foot letting it slam across his cheek, sending him reeling backward not wanting to let the girl take advantage of his state he skipped backward firing off his blunderbuss off as a deterring shot, in reply she raised her umbrella blocking the pellets that collided with its surface before shooting off towards him at such speed it seemed as though she teleported, Jaune however had plans of his own reaching into one of his pockets his hands clenched around a phial of grey powder, before crushing it in his hands.

Just before she could land a spinning kick aimed for his head he too vanished into thin air briefly, reappearing a few paces away, the clouds seemed to part and the moon illuminated the pier, but its rays caught onto something else as well, the blonde knight ran his hand along the old sword and the width of its edge nearly doubled in addition living light cast itself upon the once dull steel.

'My guiding Moonlight…' he whispered softly

Jaune assumed his previous stance, his eyes bore into hers and wisps of moonlight blue traced his irises.

'It's time Jaune Arc joined the Hunt'


	5. Chapter 4: Jaune Arc the Holy Blade

Chapter 4: Jaune Arc the Holy Blade

Jaune slowly circled his opponent warily as a wolf pokes and prods at his meal, but his prey too had fangs to bite back with, in the end one will retreat with its tail between their legs and the other will have their prize, a certain wanted criminal wrapped within a package of steel and Dust.

Jaune shot forward, the holy blade at his side he swung in an arcing cleave determined to disembowel his opponent, this one however was smarter than others and evaded the strike rather than take it head on with her umbrella, she returned in kind closing the distance and prepared to retaliate in close quarters combat, using her parasol to extend her range she jabbed at him, Jaune tanked the blow and struck back with his sword in one hand, unable to pull back from her assault she pressed her attack hoping for to dissuade him from following through, but undeterred he sliced her whittling down her aura by a reasonable margin.

The little lady flipped backward a short distance a wary expression etched onto her face, not wanting to give his opponent breathing room Jaune charged a swing at thin air, much to the petite fighter's confusion as he swung however a large horizontal arc of light shot forth from the glowing weapon, it shimmered and pulsed as it flew through the air, she raised her umbrella expecting it to disappear on contact with her weaponised parasol leaving her unscathed from the seemingly flashy but useless display.

She guessed wrong, and was struck in the chest cleanly by the wave of light as it passed straight through her umbrella making her stumble backward in surprise, she folded her weapon away from its defensive form as quickly as she could and guessed correctly as she followed dodged and weaved away from the barrage of lights that flew her way, the kid was lucky she'll give him that but she won't fall for that trick a second time.

But then she realised a wet sticky sensation on her form, blood had begun staining her pink undershirt and jacket, and a lurch of pain shot through her body. That wasn't right her Aura should've protected her from any harm that befell her, true the wound was slowly mending but the barrier qualities Aura normally held did not seem to apply to the strange weapon the boy held in his hands.

This kid was dangerous Neo thought as they lunged at each other, one clean swipe from that blade could spell the end of her, his weapon may be better but she still had skill on her side, it didn't help the fact that he seemingly faded in and out of existence every time they traded or evaded each other's blows, it made tracking him in melee combat difficult. But unlike her semblance his illusions only applied to dodging, so it took a few moments of connect the dots in her mind and a minute amount of guess work from where her opponent was to find where he would reappear, to be honest it was quite 'fun' to her something to jog the mind.

Jaune grit his teeth as he received several blows to his chest and thighs, they would probably bruise for a little bit but still damn hurt, he fired off his blunderbuss but her opponent managed to twist herself away from most of the pellets getting back at him with a smack to the face with her folded parasol, he snapped his head back quickly only to receive a spinning kick across the same cheek.

Jaune growled audibly as he spun around again to face the lady once more, he needed to change things up if he was to beat her, he needed to adapt to her close quarters based fighting style.

'But how' he wondered internally as he evaded and blocked as many attacks as he could trying to find breathing room to reassess his position.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that his friends had already finished off the White Fang lackeys and were all circling the slightly dinged Paladin, he needed to maintain his opponent's focus on him so they could finish their job.

Jaune gripped the handle of his holy sword tightly, the blade's glow intensifying as it seemed to share his own surge of determination, he looked to his gun to be honest it's been more of a crux than an asset to him in this fight so he discarded it letting the antique weapon clatter to the ground, and took up a new stance gripping the Holy Moonlight Blade in both hands, he spoke a silent prayer for himself and focused upon his opponent.

He raised his blade and charged at her, slicing at her form with conviction small particles of moonlight energy fluttering in the wake of his swings, in turn Neo tried to make distance with each evade, the range of his great sword easily dwarfing her own, she knew she could not parry him lest her beloved weapon be cleaved in twain by his regrettably beautiful sword.

Jaune had a lightbulb moment as he pressed his offensive, varying his strikes in speed and strength but in turn throwing in moves that should've belonged to other bosses, he made a cleave from left to right leaving him open as he finished, pivoting on the spot he prepared the signature 'Gundyr's kick' as his opponent foolishly followed up on his brief moment of vulnerability, she raised her umbrella and gripped it in both hands attempting to fend off the move, but the surprising force behind the kick jarred her arms, making her wince in pain opening herself up for attack as her arms were too weak to mount an adequate defence.

Jaune moved one hand to grip the edge of the Holy Moonlight Blade before bringing it upward sending her into the air, Jayne then took his blade in both hands by the grip and plunged it into the ground summoning forth an upheaval of arcane force, caught in the maelstrom Neo was unable to utilise her semblance effectively.

Landing a few meters away before clutching her middle as more blood began to leak from the newly formed injury, Jaune externally was unperturbed by the injury, but internally he was concerned, no normal weapon could possibly inflict that sort of damage, just what did his elder sister do to his Holy Moonlight Blade? Did she actually manage to find a way to form split damage that could somehow pierce Aura? If so how? Shaking those distracting thoughts from his mind he hunched low, like a wolf raising its hackles in a bid to intimidate its opposition, he bided his time waiting to punish the initially overconfident ice-cream themed lady.

They once again circled each other, unbeknownst to the both of them that, Roman Torchwick's Paladin was falling apart by the second, as a rage enhanced Yang pummelled its heavily dented legs and its guns compromised by the numerous bullet holes that were scattered across the painted metal, the cockpit was riddled with cracks, adding to the dire situation the criminal mastermind was in, but with systems damaged and the constant rocking from being on the receiving end of multiple blows he could not call out to his partner-in-crime, probably because his scroll lay far away from his seat beneath a myriad of collapsed cables, scrap metal and the like.

Neo initiated this time round, combinations of punches and kicks aimed at the blonde knight's body to which he either dodged or fended off with the width of his great sword, the lack of space Jaune was allowed for Neo to push the offensive quickly and easily, his stamina slowly draining as the surprisingly strong blows Neo put out made Jaune struggle for control of the fight, anticipating another kick he raised his arm to block, but to his surprise Neo vaulted over him, before unsheathing her own secret weapon, a thin blade separated from the umbrella and gripping the weapon in her right arm she brought it down upon Jaune's exposed back, he grunted as the blade pressed into him damaging his aura severely judging by the loud yelp of pain Jaune let out as he nearly tumbled onto the pavement, wanting to finish him off once and for all Neo levelled her blade in a two hand grip, thrusting it forward into Jaune's chest.

Aura shattered, Jaune coughed blood as Neo's weapons slid through his body with ease, but did not puncture his heart but it did pop a lung. Wheezing in pain he slid to the ground choking on his own blood as his collapsed lung filled with the viscous liquid, withdrawing the blade Neo approached the wounded blonde slowly her high heeled boots making audible clacks against the pavement, His Holy Moonlight Blade lay too far away too reach, he drearily lifted his gaze to meet the eyes of his would be killer, she smiled a crooked smile but he noticed the slight twitch in her eye an obvious sign of restrained hostility.

Her grin widened into a sickening beam as she raised the thing blade, lining its tip to where his heart should be, but then she hesitated raising it higher letting the sharp tip to graze against his throat, the cold steel biting into his oh so delicate neck, she was going to make him suffer for playing her like that, And a long, slow, end to the kid would put her at ease. Before she could land the death blow however, Jaune went all in bringing the Hunter's Blunderbuss from behind his back with a defiant roar he pulled the trigger without a second thought, his opponent flew backward her body peppered with entry wounds from the pellets of his antique shotgun but regained her footing easily, whipping her head her eyes flashed in absolute fury.

In a life or death situation, Jaune's focus was more on survival rather than dying with 'honour' it was a dated concept that he learned the hard way from his sisters and the lovely PVP community, and if cheap tricks such as that allowed him a chance to live a another day than he'd rather take it, than live a short life only in the genesis of his true potential.

He heard a small stampede of footsteps, but he was too weary and too injured to think straight, his vision blurred and doubled he struggled to drag himself somewhere to rest, and doubled his efforts as soon as the tell-tale clashes of steel and gunfire signalled combat, he knew it was his friends identifying the signature bangs of Ember Celica as shotgun shells clacked on the floor, but stopped when he heard the sound of shattering glass and the heavy breathing of post-combat exhaustion taking hold, a pair of footsteps frantically closed in on his position, his breathing laboured he submitted himself to his saviour, sighing in relief as she recognised the emerald eyes of his partner before submitting to his injuries.

It had taken three days for Jaune to awaken from his induced coma in hospital, Pyrrha had stayed at his bedside for as long as time would allow, the surgeons said that he was lucky to have gotten here in time, if another ten minutes was allocated to him bleeding on the ground he would've died, drowned in his own blood. Pyrrha was horrified to see the state her partner was in, in fact she went to extreme lengths utilising the school's library and the Dustnet to find out who attacked _her_ Jaune.

When the combined efforts of Team RWBY and NPR managed to calm the girl down, she spent those days in solemnity quietly going about her normal school days, when Jaune awoke from his drug-induced slumber he nearly choked to death because of how hard Pyrrha hugged him, then proceeded to be slapped and lectured for the next half hour. The doctors and nurses watching their little moment could only chuckle and smile amongst each other, they acted like an old married couple despite Pyrrha's indignance in confirming the state of their relationship.

"Why didn't you call for backup!?" she hissed accusingly

"I was pre-occupied?" he guessed as he clutched his chest,

That earned him a punch on the shoulder, this time it was a forceful.

"You nearly died God damn it!" she near-shrieked

"I know Pyrrha, and I'm sorry!" Jaune rasped before coughing heavily

Pyrrha ceased her verbal assault, concern completely washing over the frustration.

"But why Jaune?" she choked "We could've easily beaten her if we worked together"

"You were all….so focused on the Paladin" he answered airily his eyes struggled to maintain focus, as his only functioning lung worked overtime "That….was, the priority"

"Finding Blake was the priority, not fighting some stranger" She shot back "Neither did we know it was Roman Torchwick of all people

"Plans, change" he coughed "she was in…a fight, what else could we do?"

"It would've been nice to know what Blake and Weiss were actually fighting over though" Pyrrha said softly letting her hand rest on Jaune's arm, watching his chest rise and fall as his breaths were becoming more and more laboured.

"For…another time" he stated airily "You should go Pyr….you look terrible" he added with a crooked smile

She nodded, her eyes were still baggy from the all-nighters she pulled. She let her hand linger on his for a few final moments before taking her leave.

"Goodnight Jaune" she said softly

"G'night Pyr…"he called back

The door closed with a soft click, leaving our beloved blonde knight alone in the dark.

He turned his head to where the Holy Moonlight Blade lay, propped up against a chair its glow still present and mesmerising as always.

'Still at my side" he mused to himself solemnly, he turned his attention to the screen that was broadcasting the news footage of Roman Torchwick entering an armoured truck was continuously being played on loop.

'Well at least I didn't mutilate myself for nothing' he commented snidely, his throat clawed at itself as he fell into a coughing fit once more.

Leaning over he pressed the power button on the remote, turning in for the night.

After another two boring days of sleeping, eating horrid hospital food and browsing the poor collection of channels on the hanging TV he received the clean bill of health from his doctor, and was allowed to leave. However the repair of his damaged organ was quite taxing on his body, as the technique use to repair his perforated lung involved supercharging his Aura to repair the injury, his doctor clearly stated that he was exempt from all 'strenuous physical activity' for the next week and a half, therefore no combat classes, assignments or missions.

It was hard to accept at first, Beacon essentially became normal schooling, without combat classes which sucked a lot. After a stomach-churning ride from the Bullhead station in Vale, he was escorted by Glynda and Ozpin to his dorm room. His team greeted him with sad smiles, and received a light group hug from them.

Team RWBY stopped by and gave him a 'get well soon' card, it was a little rushed in appearance with glue smeared cross the front and a handful of glitter just thrown onto it, hilariously contrasted by the cursive print of 'Get Well Soon' probably written by the Ice Queen and on the inside of the card other 'get well' greetings from the rest of the team and funnily enough some of the other students as well, even Cardin and his team signed their names on the card of all people.

It was quite heart-warming to Jaune, being acknowledged and accepted as part of the first year family.

He lay down on his own dorm bed, propping the Holy Moonlight Blade against the back wall by the window, letting out a heavy sigh knowing that the next few days would be difficult, he would need to catch up on the homework assignments he had missed during his time in hospital, in the long run catch up again on the combat class rankings and return to his training regime with Pyrrha. It would be rough and arduous, but he'd get there. And that's what mattered to him.

Heck he didn't complete all the Souls borne series to NG7+ by whining or complaining, it took time effort and patience and in this case such virtues can apply here. It had only been a few days since he had received his weapons, so defeat was to be expected at some point and thus he proposed his ultimatum, he may have been performing well in class, but improvement was in order.

He needed to refine his talents further, for now he was acting like someone who had just exchanged for a boss soul weapon in Dark souls 3 and got it to +5 without even experimenting or fully immersing into its capabilities, but for now he had to recuperate, his recovering organs would definitely impede his training if he decided to start now, that and his pseudo mother/pseudo-overly protective elder sister Pyrrha would throw a fit.

And so Jaune spent the next few dies nose-deep in textbooks and writing notes as he let out wistful, longing sighs as the tell-tale sounds of battle as his friends battled it out in the arena. Though he was able to pump out several pages worth of notes and essays to account for missed theory time which was a nice touch.

As soon as he was given the all-clear he immediately started spending the afternoons refining his combat techniques in the, as well as role-playing specific situations that he may encounter with particular reference to Ice-cream lady. He varied his weapons choices every half hour, and started to build up speed with each swing of his heavier weapons, and performing all possible combos as quickly as possible his lack of strength made him open to counters with every moment he let his weapon linger from the culmination of weight and momentum, a strict discipline needed to be developed, and he needed to become more aggressive, poking and prodding at others' mistakes becomes flawed in the face of skilled opponents.

He returned to the Holy Moonlight Blade and Blunderbuss combo, developing a stronger trigger discipline timing his shots as he imagined the speed of his imaginary opponent's swings and therefore locking down before connection of their fist or their leg was made, recalling his fight at the docks he came to the revelation that spacing was also a flaw of his the lengthy great sword could not be swung effectively if the little lady was right at his face. But despite all this training he needed a live target to fight against, how could he progress if he has not experienced defeat more than once? He needed to find flaws in himself in real situations and therefore work to counter them, and thus he would wait tomorrow in anticipation for mission week.

* * *

Omake:

Jaune was in a very bad situation, let's just say he lost a bet and so a specific set of requirements were made the next time he went into combat class, alright fine I'll give it to you straight.

The winner of that bet was none other than Yang Xiao Long, you see back in Chapter 2 'Judge of Ash' one might remember the comment made by our 'Lord of Cinder' in regards to showing off his feminine side later, Yang called up on that favour and thus he stands here in combat class, his face visibly red.

He was absolutely terrified as he struggled to lift his face to meet his match up to Yang's lilac eyes

Yang grinned playfully as she smashed her gauntlet-encased fists together sending a burst of sparks from the contact.

"Looking good Vomit boy~" she taunted

Jaune gulped audibly, recalling the fact that he beat Yang's little sister a few days ago, and that meant divine retribution, resigning himself to his fate he lifted his weapons off the ground the twin swords the 'Boreal Dancer'.

Readying his twin swords, he let out a sigh trying to restrain the surge of embarrassment that coursed through his mind and cheeks, to add freedom to move his legs, torso and hips he had to do a complete wardrobe overhaul, and the results were, intriguing to say the least. Thanks to a set of armour 'lovingly' crafted that was found sitting at the very bottom of his delivery box.

He wore tight skins that covered his whole body except his hands and feet, with his breastplate strapped over it, he sacrificed his shoulder plates in favour of narrow overlapping plates and matching gloves his thighs and shins were covered in plating of similar design and a skirt-like piece rested above his hips attached to his back and just above his rear were ghostly weaves of fabric, what was embarrassing was the fact that his ass was not covered, giving the audience a lovely view of his butt, enhanced by the satin material that held his rear perfectly.

He could practically feel the intense stares of his classmates and panting, flashes of light indicating his classmates scrolls in active use, settling into the atmosphere as quickly as he could he stood straight but leaned back slightly letting his chest jut in front of him an air of confidence seemed to surround him

Yang's face contorted in confusion as Jaune began to walk slowly, his legs crossing over each other as he took each step as if trailing an invisible line, he raised the orange blade before flashing a playful, foxy smile. Inviting the bewildered but slightly aroused brawler to a 'dance'

Over where Pyrrha sat, her eyes were completely glued to the rear of our 'Dancer' her eyes following each movement following the slight sway of his hips as he continued to move in such a confusingly graceful manner, his armour choice completely transformed his previously lanky appearance to something of eerie beauty, which was saying a lot considering he was guy.

Weiss however was desperately trying to hide the blush forming on her cheeks as well as trying to hide Ruby's innocent eyes from the provocative sight before them.

Yang shook her head, blocking out numerous 'thoughts' that entered her mind and took the initiative lunging forward with the help of recoil provided by her gauntlets to close the distance, a punch aimed at the crossdressers' body.

Jaune twisted away, his body moved in ways no one should before lazily riposting her punch with slice at her side, he grinned lazily before resuming his stroll around the arena, Yang was not amused by his attempts to distract her, but inside she was very distracted by the continuous flashes of her peer's scrolls as well as the barely audible whispers of 'That Ass'.

Yang initiated again with a haymaker aimed at his face, to which he danced away punishing her lack of form with two clean fluid cuts at her back, she growled in frustration at how he simply countered her, whilst the other student's hooted and wolf whistled at the display.

"Having regrets Yang?" Jaune taunted smoothly

"Not a chance" she hissed as she sprinted towards him, halting his walk Jaune readied his twin swords before switching grip into a reverse one dragging the swords across the ground as Yang approached as if taunting her, taking the bait Yang doubled her efforts her eyes beginning to see red as Jaune casually reclined himself preparing for her assault.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!" she roared unleashing a storm of fists and legs aimed at Jaune's _slender_ form, Jaune repeated his same reply, dodging each blow with swift fluidity before leaving small traces of a retaliation on Yang's form, aiming an uppercut she launched her cocked fist at his smirking face.

An explosion of force sent her rocketing skyward interrupting her attack, she landed behind him with a thud dazed by the sudden attack, her eyes locked onto something glossy and dark, connecting the dots she realised what she was staring at.

Jaune's ass, and by God that bet was worth the win.

Yang promptly fainted on the spot, blood leaking profusely out of her nose and onto the floor.

Ms. Goodwitch, her normally pale complexion tinged a slight pink levitated the unconscious brawler onto a stretcher that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, as she left however she managed to withdraw her scroll form within her sleeve taking a quick snap at the now confused Jaune Arc's current pose, his head twisted to face the audience expectantly, some began packing their equipment away hurriedly, whilst a particular red-headed fighter whistled absently as she continued taking more and more pictures of her partner.

Ruby leapt out of her seat quickly moving to her elder sister in a flurry of rose petals

"Sis!" she yelled "are you Ok?"

"God really does exist" Yang slurred drunkenly as she stared at the ceiling, her eyes glazed over.

"YANG!" Ruby shouted desperately shaking her sister "don't leave me!"

"Will she be alright Professor?" Jaune asked as he bent over Yang's unconscious form, inadvertently raising his rear up for all to see.

"Y-y-yes Mr. Arc, Ms. Xiao Long will be fine, but I suggest you change out of your combat gear, class is about to end" she replied quickly her cheeks reddening further.

Ozpin promptly spat out his coffee as he monitored his spy cameras' his spectacled face locking with the most heavenly sight in all existence, managing to screenshot the lucky moment, he quickly set it as his desktop background without a second thought.

'No regrets' he mused to himself as he took a lengthy sip of his coffee, despite the stains that already sunk into his coat and shirt.

Meanwhile over where Sun and Blake sat.

'I'd tap that' Sun said nonchalantly

Blake's eyes widened in shock before quickly excusing herself from the classroom, many _counter-productive_ thoughts swimming through her mind.

'It has to be destroyed' Blake said with clenched fists as she glared intently at Jaune 'it's better this way' as she loaded fire dust rounds into her weapon.


	6. Chapter 5: Beast Within

Chapter 5: Father GascJuane

Team JNPR and RWBY stood in front of a large holographic notice board, various missions ranging in difficulty were on display, this will be the first time that the first years would be able to go out beyond Vale under the supervision and guidance of one of Beacon's staff to gain experience into real Huntsman team situations.

Team RWBY had somehow managed to take a high tier mission with Doctor Oobleck as their guide, going to the lost Mountain Glen for reconnaissance. JNPR however was sent on a defense mission with reports of a Grimm horde stampeding their way towards a nearby settlement, much to his behest Jaune and his team were to arrive via Bullhead.

The Blonde hunter sat gripping the harnesses tightly as the Bullhead rocked and shook as it flew through the open sky, he mentally begged and pleaded with his stomach to hold on for just a little longer, he received reassuring smiles from his teammates that sat next to him, and a nod of acknowledgment from Ms. Goodwitch, their supervising Huntsman.

A red light signaled from above, meaning that landing was imminent, Jaune tapped his feet in anxiousness and his hands slowly lowered to the buckle that restrained him from touching solid earth, as soon as the wheezing of the Bullhead's engines ceased and the rocking stopped Jaune shot out of his seat lunging for the automatic sliding door.

He sighed in great relief, relishing the crisp air, compared to the heavy nauseating sensations he felt in the aircraft, with a farewell groan the Bullhead departed leaving team JNPR and Ms. Goodwitch to themselves from the hill which they landed from a small village could be seen below, neatly arranged wood log cabins to the left of the hill, whilst over to the right were expansive fields of wheat and other produce.

Jaune's hand lowered to his waist to where his weapons were clipped, on his left a large one handed axe that nearly touched the ground, from the handle to where the head connected to its wooden spine it was wrapped in strips of dirtied cloth, the curved edge of the simple weapon was decorated with scratches and nicks, a faint metallic odor could be detected from it. And In his other hand the Hunter's Blunderbuss, which he used previously at the docks.

The team entered the heart of the town, a large town hall whose spire dwarfed all other buildings around it, they received smiles and waves from the locals who were Faunus and Humans alike, hordes of small children would gather around the Huntsmen-in-training, their eyes alight in awe.

Ms. Goodwitch was able to get the children to move on, their saddened looks however tore up the hearts of team JNPR, but they knew they had a job to do, having fun could wait for later, once the storm has blown over. But first thing first, they had to announce their presence to the local mayor or whatever title the leader took for him/herself.

The local militia guards that stood at the entrance to the hall acknowledged Goodwitch with a nod before stepping out of their way, a set of stairs led up to an open office-like room and a large desk sat in the middle, sunlight bled through the large windows to East and a figure stood gazing out onto the fields below with a soft click of the simple wooden doors locking in place the figure turned to face them.

She was a Faunus, her trait appearing to be a pair of large orange pointed fox ears jutted from her shoulder length hair and her eyes were a lush green, her physique was modest and showed few signs of aging she flashed a gentle smile before speaking.

"You must be the Huntsmen sent to help us" she greeted pleasantly but a hint of sadness could be noted in her tone "I'm the leader of this settlement here, my name is Rudi"

"Glynda Goodwitch, and this is team JNPR" she greeted in turn gesturing towards the group of teens

"It's good of you to arrive early" Rudi said as she moved to her desk "our border patrol has been continuously reporting a horde of Grimm advancing towards here they estimate more than 60 in number, possibly in the hundreds"

"And no other Huntsmen have come to help?" Glynda inquired in confusion

"No" She sighed solemnly "You are the only ones who've come"

Glynda nodded acknowledging this disturbing revelation, brow furrowed in thought she eventually spoke "How long will it be until they arrive?"

"Under two hours" she replied "We've managed to assemble all militia forces before you arrived for what it's worth"

"That won't be necessary, these people have lives of their own, we as Huntsmen have trained for these situations, they have not" Glynda Goodwitch said with resolve "Do you have an evacuation strategy already planned?"

"Yes everyone has been informed, and all are ready to abandon the settlement if worse comes to worse" Rudi responded

"Good, prepare to leave early" Glynda said sternly "If we are unable to hold the line, at least you will be able to have a head start"

Rudi nodded solemnly at the implications "Do what you have to, we can rebuild in time"

The teacher of Beacon turned her head to her accompanying team of students, her objectives were she had to ensure that those kids returned to Beacon safely, but at the same time ensure the survival of civilians.

"I'll make a call" the teacher aloud "I'm calling in a team of 2nd years to assist in the defense, they won't arrive until we are already in the midst of battle"

Rudi nodded slowly "Thank you Ms. Goodwitch and to you as well team JNPR, I'll call the evacuation"

"And we'll prepare for the long night ahead" Glynda finished off as both adults watched the sun begin to set, the light fading over the hills slowly.

"Prepare yourselves team JNPR" their combat class teacher warned "We have a long night ahead of us"

Whilst Ms. Goodwitch went off to make her call, the team of first years gathered around a set of barricades their expressions were filled with worry, only them and Ms. Goodwitch could defend the town until reinforcements arrived, the bigger question was could they last long enough until the second years arrived, nearly a hundred or more Grimm of unspecified types would arrive in the hour.

An anxious silence engulfed all of them, this was their first proper mission and God has decided to throw them off in the deep end, their faces furrowed in deep thought. They were expecting a short skirmish not a small army, Jaune's grip on his Hunter's axe tightened watching as the last rays of light faded from the world. He swapped glances with his teammates they were anxious, Nora's bubbly mannerisms became twitches of apprehensions and poorly concealed worry her foot tapping quickly against the soil.

Ren's silent resolve was still present his gaze was elsewhere, locked onto the narrow valley in front of them, the place from which the Grimm were believed to come through his eyes scanned back and forth warily as he thumbed the safety of Stormflower.

"Is everyone alright?" Jaune asked out of the blue

Nora unperturbed by the dire situation nodded her head excitedly, but received solemn nods from Pyrrha and Ren.

'We have to calm ourselves down, itchy nerves are going to make things worse' Jaune thought to himself

"You know, coming out here reminds me of home" Jaune spoke aloud

"How so?" Ren asked with a quirked brow

"On the weekends, my family and I go out camping together" Jaune smiled wistfully "My sisters would always take turns changing my hairstyle in my sleep"

Nora snickered as her mind began to mix and match all sorts of hairstyles onto the blonde hunter's head, Pyrrha's imagination also followed suit and Ren being himself simply smiled.

"I was personally a favorite with shaved sides and back with a ponytail" he added with a smile "makes me look all professional and that"

His team's smiles widened and he could tell Nora was trying so desperately hard not to burst out laughing, poor girl had tears welling up in her eyes.

"Didn't help the fact that there were seven of them" he finished off holding on to his façade of nonchalance and proved to be the final kicker, Nora burst out in loud raucous laughter.

'Pfffff-Hahahahahaha'

"So, let me get this straight" Pyrrha said "you have seven sisters all doing God-knows-what with your hair in your sleep"

Jaune nodded "Yup" finishing his reply with pop in the 'p'

Pyrrha giggled covering her amusement with the back of her hand

"What?" Jaune asked in faux bewilderment "some of those hairstyles were actually good!"

"You must be very lenient with them" Pyrrha continued

"Well there was that one time..." Jaune was about to say before covering his mouth quickly

"Oh? What's this? Fearless Leader has a secret?! Tell us, you're queen commands you!" Nora shouted dramatically

Still covering his mouth Jaune shook his head quickly

"Go on Jaune" Ren encouraged "It will be much worse if Nora has to force it out of you, I speak from experience" he finished off with a slight shudder

"Y-yeah thanks Ren" Jaune thanked hesitantly

"Go on Jaune" Pyrrha added with a slight menacing tone as she edged herself closer and closer to her partner's face "tell us"

Jaune stood his ground though he shook like a leaf in the wind as he felt the full force of two menacing stares from his female teammates, piercing into his core, Unable to take the pressure he gave up with a heavy sigh.

"My sisters put hair extensions on me for a day" Jaune conceded "Then they proceeded to give me a twin pigtails"

Their eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and a collective sputter came from all of them before his entire team reveled in the big reveal.

"Oh my sides" Nora giggled ecstatically

Pyrrha's face was as red as her hair as she too clutched her sides at the implications, desperately trying to maintain her composure.

Ren being himself as always flashed a sideways smile

Jaune too snickered in amusement turning his attention towards the valley ahead of them, his ears also took note of the lack of sound, the locals had already moved off and they were alone with a shattered moon being his team's only company.

His teammates also took note of this and had removed themselves from the warmth of the bonfire they had set up, weapons in hand and their faces lacking the innocent amusement they held before.

"We all ready?" Jaune asked his team to which they answered with a nod

"Good" Ren said quickly "because here they come"

Jaune's head quickly fixated themselves on the valley, and from the blackness sets of blood-hungry eyes watched them from afar, slowly growing larger with as they advanced, the calm navy sky burned alight with slivers of crimson, flaps of numerous wings signaled a small flock of Nevermores from the skies, a cacophony of rumbles and shakes from the earth, the chaotic rhythm of a stampede.

Jaune gripped his axe tightly in hand, the shattered moon's light adding a murderous glint to the old Hunter's edge, before clouds hid the moon's gaze, shrouding the world around them in complete darkness.

Jaune's team shifted warily at the change of scenery the bonfire their only solace against the downpour, but a distinct clacking could be heard, the noise stopping right beside them.

"I hope I'm not too late" Ms. Goodwitch said smoothly

Jaune smiled at his teacher "You always arrive on time Ms. Goodwitch"

By then the Grimm Horde was but 50 meters or so from the group, whipping out her riding crop with a flick of her wrist Ms. Goodwitch began summoning pyres of rock and dust firing them to lessen their numbers from long range. Howls, snorts and growls of pain made evident that the elemental spears had stuck true.

Pyrrha, Nora and Ren followed suit unleashing their weapons' ranged forms, firing fully auto at the creatures of Grimm. Jaune however stood forward axe and gun in his hands he prepared to meet his opponents half-way.

"Keep firing!" Jaune ordered "If we can deal with as many as possible at long range, we won't need to expend ourselves too much when it comes to fighting in close quarters"

A Beowulf came into view and made a lunge for Jaune, he sidestepped it quickly giving it a face-full of dust pellets with his fire-arm, then ending its misery with a hack of his hunter's axe decapitating the beast.

More and more Grimm became visible lunging and swiping at the team of Hunters

"Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, move to close quarters!" Ms. Goodwitch yelled firing off more and more projectiles of rock, metal, wood and dust.

Mecha-shifting their weapons they yelled a battle-cry before moving to their leader's side holding off the hordes at the front-line, Ren weaved through the back lines distracting as many Grimm as he could. Leaving Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora to fend off whatever was left

Utilising a combination of a Bloodborne Hunter's skill and Father Gascoigne's brutality, Jaune unleashed a 'Beast Roar' as he jammed his blunderbuss' barrel into an Ursa's mouth, pulling the trigger, the inhumane sound briefly stunning the hordes using the time available he charged his swing the Hunter's Axe lengthened with a click of its mechanisms before pulling off a double spin, cleaving through rows of Grimm giving his teammates breathing room to press their own offensives.

"Maintain a line!" Jaune shouted hoarsely, his vocal chords strained from the Beast Roar "Don't push, just finish them off"

By the Lie Ren had returned to their side, his hair disheveled and limbs trembling slightly from the adrenaline.

"Stay at mid-range Mr. Ren" Ms. Goodwitch called from behind "Give them suppressing fire"

Ren nodded switching his weapons to his dual auto-pistols before unleashing a barrage to support Nora's downtime between swings of her mighty warhammer.

The front-line however was slowly being driven back as Nevermores began to litter the ground around them with their projectile feathers, Jaune grit his teeth as an Ursa's jaws clamped onto the handle of his axe, the beast staggered back as a rocky spear punched through its eye, spattering black viscous liquid onto Jaunes' face, assisted by Lie Ren's Stormflower rounds he was able to drag himself away from the front-line, but he noticed something different. His other senses felt so much sharper, he could 'hear' where his teammates were only a few paces away in front, but by sound of their labored breaths and the faint scent of sweat, he could tell they were weakening ever so slightly.

He had to re-join them and fast, but his lack of vision would make him a liability, his new enhanced senses would come in handy considering the lack of vision provided by the night, Jaune growled in suppressed rage towards the Grimm revealing lengthened canines, seizing his Hunter's axe he tore off some of the old-wrapping before fastening them around his head, over his eyes.

With a renewed vigor he rejoined the front-line with a feral roar dredging his axe into a Creeper's skull blasting its exposed neck with his Blunderbuss, hacking and slashing and the hordes of weaker Grimm that came his way with brutal ferocity and animalistic grace the other front-liners started to receive less and less Grimm and were somehow drawn towards Jaune.

Using Magnhild's grenade launcher form Nora tried to blast away as many as she could to support her leader, Ren who had run out of ammunition had returned to distracting the larger Grimm, whilst Pyrrha made an effort to stand at Jaune's side but was quickly driven away by sheer numbers of swiping limbs and lunging jaws.

By now the clouds had vacated, the moon illuminating the battle ground in front of them. Numerous piled up bodies of Grimm had littered the soaked earth, they struggled to stand beneath the softened soil as a result of the rain, and to the horror of Ms. Goodwitch she saw Jaune as he finished off the last of the wave of Grimm.

"Beasts all over the shop…." Jaune muttered tiredly as he hacked at the remains of an already deceased Ursa, he lifted his head, though his eyes were covered by dirty, worn bandages he snarled as more red eyes revealed themselves from afar.

"Too proud to show your face eh?" he shouted challenging the horde from afar

His teammates however were more horrified by the changes Jaune had undergone over the course of the fight, his ears became pointed and his face had lengthened slightly, his canines were prominent poking between his lips as he gave the Grimm an ugly snarl, his was no longer blonde by a mixture of hair soaked by the rain and tarnished by mud had grown considerably into thick course strands.

His left arm that once held a blunderbuss was vacant, but long cruel nails grew from his finger tips and shaggy fur, his body had grown stronger and muscled in a beastly way, his clothes and armor were torn from the numerous swipes of claws and teeth that raked his body, but was surprisingly unharmed judging by the lack of blood on his person.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked warily

He swiveled his head to meet her gaze despite his blindfolded visage, he let out a sigh.

"Yes?" he replied quizzically a slight growl in his tone

"Are you alright? You've changed" She inquired "Whose is it?"

"Father Gascoigne" he replied

"Aura check students!" Ms. Goodwitch called

'52' Nora yelled

'59' Pyrrha called

'47' Ren shouted

'43' June rumbled

"Fall back Mr. Arc" Ms. Goodwitch ordered "Your Aura cannot sustain another encounter!"

"I apologise Ms. Goodwitch" Jaune said gutturally "but I cannot do that, my blunderbuss is out of rounds"

"Return to the Bullhead zone then Mr. Arc" She corrected herself

"W-what?!" Team JNPR collectively yelled

"You heard me loud and clear Mr. Arc" she shouted "you are still injured from your little escapade at the docks a week prior, you will be a liability to the team if you continue"

"No time for worrying about me" he chided with a rumble in his throat "another wave is on the way, I can hear them, feet pounding away, coming closer"

He was right, loud squelching could be heard as another wave was already moving towards them, the flock of Nevermores let out a collective screech before swooping low towards them.

Jaune let out a low droning growl in his throat as they approached, he looked to his Hunter's axe, laughably small in his grown beastly arms and let it fall to the ground before snapping his wrists, the nails on his right hand lengthening at his command.

His teammates flinched at the display, and their gaze drifted upwards as Jaune's beastly transformation progressed his height matching that of an Ursa, he hunched low and continues to rumble with hostility.

Glynda Goodwitch raised her riding crop, she squinted her eyes as she prepared another volley of earthen projectiles, being the more experienced huntress her stamina had still yet to show signs of fatigue, forming arrows of ice made from the leftover rain and usage of dust she let the hail of icy arrows slowing the progress of the fresh wave of beasts.

Glynda's scroll rung and with a flick of her vacant arm brought the device up, flickering to life a message slid into view.

'Arriving in ten minutes Prof. Goodwitch' C. Adel

Quickly putting her scroll away she continued to channel her efforts into her weaponized rain

"Hold out for another ten minutes team JNPR!" she called to team JNPR "Reinforcements are arriving soon"

"Pyrrha, Nora maintain your distance, Ren and I are going on the front line!" Jaune shouted

letting out a an animalistic howl and brandished his claws threateningly as an Ursa threw its bulk towards Jaune in a tackle, the two large beasts hacked at each other, with Jaune's growing ferocity adding strength and speed to each swipe of his lengthy claws, wearing down the larger Ursa's body as it swiped with its paws but never finding purchase on the hunter's flesh, Jaune's maw lunged forward snatching the neck of the Ursa before twisting with all his might killing the Grimm, his teeth caked in black gristle he roared in triumph running ahead, seeking out another beast to hunt.

"Jaune come back!" Pyrrha called out but her beastly comrade paid her no mind continuing to fight against the numerous creatures, his clothes all but gone except his torn jeans his chest and back caked in blood as his aura gave way, a Beowulf latched onto his back sinking its teeth into his shoulder. Jaune howled in pain before using two clawed fingers to gouge out his oppressors eyes, hooking them into its blackened flesh he threw the blind Grimm over his shoulder and into its comrades leaping onto a Creeper he tore into its throat with his claws, swiping at an overly-eager Beowulf tearing half of its face off the chunk of black gore landing at Pyrrha's feet, distracted Pyrrha cried out as she received a clean strike from an Ursa's paws sending her sliding across the ground near where Ms. Goodwitch stood.

Ren barely managed to escape the jaws of a Beowulf, slicing the creature's throat in reply to its attempt and pulled the triggers of Stormflower, clicking empty he retreated.

Out of grenade rounds, Nora swept Magnhild in might arcs sending scores of the Grimm flying into the air, though here Aura was stronger in comparison to her teammates, the sheer number of attacks flying at her was whittling her aura.

Jaune heard the cry of pain and acknowledged it with a chuffing noise, leaping over the hordes of Grimm to protect Pyrrha, he grunted as he received three Nevermore feathers into his back as the eager creatures sought to end Jaune's partner, giving Pyrrha a look over she appeared alright, but Pyrrha was horrified by the Jaune's continuing transformation.

"I'll be fine!" he hissed through grip teeth

Ms. Goodwitch summoned forth a barrier of stone and mud, halting the advance of the Grimm for a little while, some took to bashing the intrusion down whilst other simply vaulted over their comrades to get over the wall.

"We're losing ground" Ms. Goodwitch said with a slight wheeze in her voice, the beginning of fatigue began to take hold of her "We have to pull back"

"Go…ahead" Jaune thundered "I…stay…here"

"No!" Pyrrha yelled "You are coming with us, we have to stay together as a team!"

But Jaune ignored her his gaze focused solely on the Grimm, they had already reached the town trampling crops weaving their way in and out of the streets looking for humans and Faunus alike, with none to be found they continued their stampede

"Blood…"Jaune he grinned elatedly "it….sings to ME!"

The smell of Pyrrha's blood began to intoxicate Beast Jaune, his body slowly being covered in shaggier fur, bone like protrusions grew from his brow as his face became more canine and unrecognizable. He roared as the transformation finalized as the bony protrusions merged together into twisted antlers of considerable size. His arms grew longer and his claws became as long as scythes, curved and wicked sinews of flesh stretched to accommodate his lankier limbs, his legs were like that of a Beowolves but sickly thin compared to its upper body and covered in shorter layers of fur.

A second eye grew on the right side of his bestial face, his teeth were crocodilian splaying outward from his narrow jaws caked in Grimm's vile ichor and strings of saliva, fine mist shot from his nostrils with every breath as the long course strands of hair that robed his arms swayed and danced in the nightly breeze.

What was once Jaune stood a Lovecraftian horror (Cleric Beast but both arms are long), it turned its head sideways so its two sets of eyes met theirs baring its teeth it spoke what words it could.

"Go…NOW… That...Order!" it rasped gutturally

He howled into the night sky and took to all fours, the lengths of hair on its body swaying in a non-existent breeze as the Cleric-beast Jaune charged the Horde of Grimm, alone.

Not wanting to question what had become of their leader or his orders despite their desire to stay together they were in no condition for another lengthy confrontation, Team NPR and Ms. Goodwitch limped their way towards the Bullhead landing zone, hoping and praying that help would arrive soon.

The Cleric Beast leapt onto the top of the Town Hall, his physique overshadowed by the shattered moon he unleashed a guttural howl into the night, making his presence known to the horde. A single Beowulf climbed the tower to meet it. And was promptly swiped off with a wave of its arm. He roared challengingly, snarling and screeching, raking his claws on the rooftop making as much noise as possible to get the attention of the Grimm.

A Nevermore swooped low its talons poised to snatch the Cleric beast, it dodged just in time but grabbed the tail feathers of his would-be attacker slamming it against the side of the building before leaping off the tower with the avian Grimm in tow bringing the creature up with all its might he slammed the Nevermore onto a lamp post impaling it all the way through its breast despite the blunt top the street decoration had.

It turned its attention to the Grimm that surrounded it, the monstrosity howled a guttural screeching that could be heard from miles away. An Ursa took to a bipedal stance and aimed a swipe at the Cleric Beast's muzzle, backing away just in time it retaliated with a strike of its own tearing off the bottom jaw of the Grimm, then rammed the defeated Grimm through a building with its antlers.

A foolish Beowulf lunged at the Cleric Beast, but was snatched out of the air by Cleric-beast Jaune's large hand before being slammed into the ground, it did not get up. However another Beowulf managed to latch to sink its teeth into Jaune's antlers though it didn't hurt, the weight of it sent Jaune stumbling around with a stiff shake of its head the oppressor was dislodged, in his brief moment of freedom an Ursa's paw caught his muzzle, making Cleric beast Jaune reel backward quickly recovering he ducked underneath a second swipe attempt, biting the Ursa in the neck tearing out its throat and killing it, he made a haphazard swipe with his right arm catching a few opportunistic Grimm with his cruel claws allowing some window of time to recuperate.

After mere moments of combat the Grimm in his sector were slain, Cleric Jaune's hide stained black and dull red. Taking in its moment of respite the once human turned beast climbed the ruined Town Hall, the retreat of the Grimm surprised it, watching the remaining Nevermore as well retreat for some reason. But one Grimm could be seen making its way towards the town, it appeared similar to a gorilla its chest, shoulders, arms and face covered in bony its murderous gaze following the Cleric Beast, Jaune leapt of the Town Hall and moved from rooftop to rooftop to meet his final opponent.

The two beasts met at a ruined crop field, the newcomer roared at Cleric Beast Jaune beating its chest, However the Cleric beast made a disapproving chuffing noise, interpreting its display as arrogance.

The two began to circle one another slowly, despite the gigantic size difference between the two creatures, the Beringel lunged towards the former human its arms poised for a punch.

The Cleric beast used its squatted legs to sidestep the blow easily, lashing out with its claws raking deep gashes into the unexposed flesh of the gorilla-like Grimm and carving deep furrows into its plates, the Beringel roared in anguish shooting its muscular arm forward in retaliation at the larger beast, but was blocked by the surprisingly durable arm of the Cleric beast.

To its shock it pulled it free arm back and it curved talons sank through its neck and upper chest, before being lifted up and tossed away into a house.

'Disappointing' Jaune mused internally 'the textbook said Beringel Grimm were supposed to be really tough'

However the Beringel came charging out through the rubble howling in rage, smoke pouring out of its puncture wounds, June readied himself letting out his own roar raising his claws, the Grimm leapt high its fist raised over its head prepping a brutal smash onto the beast Jaune's skull, his squatted legs pushed backward avoiding the overhead blow just in time sending an explosion of mud and stone from the impact site, finding purchase against a surface stone Jayne leapt towards the cloud sweeping his right arm across the smoke, the sharp talons effortlessly gliding through the haze like cutting silk, catching the Beringel in the face tearing off a chunk of its mask, leaving only a few shards clinging to its exposed visage.

It howled in pain, staggering from its opponent's mighty claws, understanding the futility of the fight the Bringer turned and fled quickly back into the valley from whence it came, The Cleric beast stood silent before turning and leaving, slowly plodding towards the Bullhead drop-zone.

Lumbering back to the Drop-zone it turned out that the reinforcements had arrived, but out of fear the second years who turned out to be Team CVFY primed their weapons at the gigantic beast that approached the Bullhead. After a strict call to stand down from Ms. Goodwitch and an explanation from Team NPR, no hostilities continued. 

His teammates sat on the ramp of the Bullhead, tired and exhausted. They raised their heads to acknowledge their leader before lowering their heads to rest.

"What happened to the Grimm?" The second year's leader asked

"Fled…Don't…Know….Why" Beast Jaune rumbled scratchily

"That can't be possible" She retorted "Grimm Never flee"

"Saw…. What I…. Saw" He snarled lowering his head to meet Team CVFY

"Let them rest Coco" Yatsuhashi said "They've been fighting from dusk till dawn"

Jaune nodded his beastly head in thanks towards the bulky swordsman

"Get some rest Jaune" Pyrrha said softly "The day is won"

"Indeed" Ms. Goodwitch nodded "we can discuss details later, mission complete"

'Finally' he sighed in relief his voice returning to more familiar human tones

Exhausted from his exertion the cleric beast slumped against the ramp its two sets of blood-thirsty red-eyes lost their active glow and slowly drifted shut, a haze of white mist clouded the creature from view before Jaune remained lying face-first in the concrete, his clothes, wounds and weapons restored as if nothing ever happened.

"That, thing was Jaune?!" Velvet shrieked suddenly

They all sighed


	7. Sneak Peak Heir of Fire 1

Sneak Peaks: Heir of Fire

 **I apologise for the long hiatus, over the last few weeks I've been busy with preparations for my final exams as well as the dreaded Writer's block, and so for the sake of progression and the wonderful reception that this story has gotten I present to you a sneak peak of what's to come in a coming chapter.**

 **Hopefully your nostalgia chords will be thoroughly plucked and your bodies are ready for more Heir of Fire.**

 **Favorite/Follow if you so choose and feel free to leave a review**

 **Until my next Chapter of Heir of Fire, enjoy!**

 **-Thiriston**

Jaune stood atop the remains of Beacon tower, ash and debris littered the impromptu arena. Thank God he made it in time, if he hadn't Pyrrha would've died.

He nearly cried as he quickly turned to assess Pyrrha's state, injured and bloodied from laceration wounds his aura had shielded the arrow that would've pierced her heart taking only a small chunk of his own aura, but that didn't matter.

To Jaune Pyrrha was more than just his teammate, he felt closer to her than anyone else among his friends, she watched his back at every turn, the voice of reason and the shoulder he could lean on when he felt down. Deep down such emotions held a name, but so shocked and disbelieving was he at the time, he could not reciprocate those feelings when she….

Kissed him.

Before she ran off on her own, to die.

He treasured her, as much as he treasured his family maybe even more intimately than that, his heart raged within his chest as he cradled his unconscious teammate, her vibrant red hair splayed around his forearm, despite its dishevelled state her face looked so serene and pure amongst the ash and hot smoke that wafted amongst the both of them.

From the smoke came Cinder, the liar, the deceiver, the reason his home and friends are swept up in this storm of blood and fire, Jaune had none of his Souls borne weapons with him him, Crocea Mors sheathed on his back and hip, he raised his eyes to meet his inevitable opponent.

Jaune unsheathed the sword and shield, the familiar clang of his weapons increasing in size, as soon as his transformation was complete however he cast away his shield, Cinder raised a brow in response drawing her twin curved swords.

"Well if it isn't Jaune Arc" she smiled in amusement "it was only a matter of time until we would face each other"

"I always knew there was something wrong with you" Jaune interrupted his eyes seething with concealed hate

"A shame you didn't act on it" Cinder shot back coolly as she circled him "You could've saved more lives"

"A burden I willingly bear" Jaune accepted gravely as he knelt to the ground, his hand scooping up ash and debris, letting it sift between his fingers, a slight flame began to dance in his palm as his eyes lit up briefly.

"One that you will carry to your grave" Cinder taunted ignoring the action "A good thing you'll die soon as well, no more future lives will be lost if you do"

"Too bad it will happen" Jaune seethed as he threw his arm aside scattering the handful of debris into the air "I'm not a naïve fool anymore, countless lives will be lost no matter what path is taken from here, it's a matter of who dies here and now who has a say in the death dealing"

"So there is a brain in that head of yours" Cinder said voice dripping with sarcasm "Your clueless, idiot student facade certainly portrayed otherwise"

"Know yourself and know your enemy" Jaune snapped back "despite all the planning Cinder, you failed to acknowledge me as a danger to yourself and your plan, therefore you failed as a tactician and now you will pay for it"

Cinder snarled but composed herself quickly "wise words for a child, where did you tear that one from? A textbook?"

"No. from the girl you were about to kill" he answered venomously

"One that I can rectify in moments from now" Cinder said quickly readying her dual swords

Jaune began to mutter to himself briskly beneath his breath, Cinder noticed this and smiled in amusement.

"Saying your prayers? You should've done that much sooner" quickly drawing her swords into a bow before firing at him three bright yellow arrows laced with fiery dust.

Jaune growled throwing himself to the side but one arrow caught his shoulder and hand, grazing his aura but was otherwise unscathed.

"I pray for you, Cinder" Jaune replied smoothly taking up a stance "For what the future holds for you"

"I don't believe in God" Cinder shot back evenly "I have no need for prayers, only skill and power to fulfil my goals"

Jaune cut-in "Because once I kill you, I believe…No"

He paused looking to himself through the reflection made by his family heirloom, he thought of his friends below, fighting the good fight for the families who wanted nothing but a sanctuary to grow together, his own family…his beloved sisters.

Who wanted him to succeed at his dream.

"Now I know where your soul will go once you are ashes at my feet" he spoke with conviction

"TO HELL!" he finished flourishing Crocea Mors in front of him.

The ash and embers that littered the tower and the surrounding air were sucked towards the long-sword twisting the metal into a long thin sword scorched black, the standard sword blade had twisted like a thread into a poker like design.

At once the heat began to make the weapon glow in places, Jaune's eyes burned like hot coals the signature sky blue irises lost in a smog of red haze.

Cinder seized up another one of his accursed semblance transformations, she couldn't make sense of his semblance, deep down she knew he would always be a problem to her plans, from day one when she gained access to the student files, and she knew he was the outlier. He was the number 21 in the set, the Wild Card, the Joker out of Beacon's students in terms of ability, so many possibilities, just as there are many ways for him to thwart her own fighting skill so is there many ways for her to destroy him, and a woman like her _hated_ random variables.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Jaune himself set alight his armour slowly charring it began to warp and curl the breastplate taking on the appearance of a ribcage whilst his gloves and body armour stretched and thinned into sleek angular plates, ash and debris added the finishing touches forming a demonic knightly helm that melded around his skull, a twisted crown of singed steel sat at the rear of his head, turning his gaze towards his opponent, he took up a stance, swinging his sword menacingly, scattering the wind and the ashes with it throwing embers and dust painting the air a filth-ridden grey, while a shattered moon and a raging sky lit the world around them.

From a pool of blood, Pyrrha's blood. A small puddle had formed from her wounds a reflection could be seen as Jaune stalked towards his opponent blade at his side, an image of a towering man, long steely grey hair and a beard of equal length he garbed in armour of tarnished gold and scale, a mighty sword of gold alight with flame, the two figures mimicked each other perfectly and slowly broke into a sprint towards Cinder Fall, and with each footfall, the heavens raged with thunder and fire.

And with a mighty battlecry Jaune swung the Firelink Blade

 _Jaune Arc, Soul of Cinder_

 **I would suggest playing the respective boss themes for all fights involving Jaune**


	8. Chapter 6: A Small Reprieve

Chapter 6:

Jaune struggled to rouse himself from his slumber, his eyes were so heavy and his limbs were on fire they ached and trembled so badly that even a groan of pain took effort. He barely managed to shift his head round to find the best position lay on the soft pillow, panting heavily and sweating from the effort he resigned himself to rest in whatever awkward sleeping posture he was trapped in.

His mind a haze from the events prior to his awakening, he vaguely remembered the sounds of tearing flesh, howls and roars that no Grimm ever recorded could replicate, a sudden jolt of pain entered his throat forcing him to cough violently, it was a sickly wheezing sound devoid of available functioning vocal chords.

He cringed as he instinctively tried to alleviate the pain in his neck by rubbing it, his arm refused to comply and punished him by cramping up in turn, and so he lay for a few moments gasping for air, closing his eyes to rest.

He ignored the sound of the door creaking open, too exhausted to acknowledge the presence of his teammate (most likely), another bout of coughing from him earned the newcomer's attention, listening to the hasty footsteps that entered the adjoining bathroom, the sound of a tap running and the return of those hasty footsteps increasing in volume as they neared his bedside.

'Here Jaune' the soft voice said 'Drink'

He opened his mouth slightly as he struggled to lift his arms to hold on to the glass presented to him, managing to get a shaky grasp of the cup of cool water he took eager gulps, relishing the soothing sensation in his throat he sighed audibly before the stranger's hands took the glass away.

He slowly opened his eyes, the cool rush that welled in his core managed to awaken his weary form to a certain extent, blinking slowly his vision cleared to come face to face with, Ruby Rose.

His brow quirked in surprise, not expecting the young hunter prodigy to be in his dorm, his mind scrambled for a greeting.

'H-hello Ruby' He tried to say, but what came out was a strangled rasp, he instantly regretted trying to speak and the pain resurged and coughed violently.

She smiled in an almost motherly way, patting his back gently as his lengthy bout slowly lessened

"Take it easy Jaune" Ruby cooed, "You're in real bad shape from what your team told me"

He nodded his thanks before settling back into his sheets

"They also told me that you turned into a giant monster," she continued

His eyes widened in shock, the traitors the lot of them!

"And that you were an idiot and tried to take on a horde of Grimm by yourself, while as said monster" She finished off in her innocent bubbly way

He nodded in guilt unable to dismiss the sheer cuteness that was, Ruby Rose.

"Not one of your brightest moments there, eh Jaune?" She added with a smile

He scowled at her, huffing before turning away from her only to avoid the voice of cute, innocent reason

Whilst she smiled innocently

"You know, you did promise me that I could look at your weapons," She recalled 'coincidently'

Jaune also remembered that little promise just then, unable to make a reply however; he slumped his shoulders in defeat, and gestured for her to carry on despite the great pain experienced by his movement attempt.

"So, can I look at them now?" She grinned giddily

Jaune sighed silently and gestured for her to have her way again.

Ruby squealed as if it was Christmas morning before diving towards Jaune's box of weapons and whatever other goodies are hidden inside.

The door creaked open, and it only took a disapproving huff from the person to know who it was.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled, "What are you doing!"

"Playing with Jaune's stuff," she replied innocently "He said I could"

"He needs rest and the racket you're causing with all those weapons isn't going to help him at all!" she reprimanded

"B-but" Ruby tried to reason, "It's a weekend!"

"No buts!" Weiss interrupted "Besides, you have homework to do, and everyone's preparing for a team practice for the Vytal Tournament coming up in a soon, and I do not take kindly to sloppy fighting"

"NO!" the reaper cried out in despair "anything but homework! I do not want to write any more essays, no more! No more! Jaune please save me!"

Jaune shrugged his shoulders, gesturing to his neck to prove his point that he could not speak

"NO! I. Trusted. You!" she struggled to say

Jaune grinned devilishly waving Ruby 'goodbye' as Weiss dragged her out the door by the legs, Ruby clawing at the carpet with crocodile tears welling in her eyes. Going as far as to cling to the doorframe by the fingertips, he could hear Weiss' continued expressions of disapproval reverberating from the hallway.

'Wow' Jaune applauded internally 'she must've been holding herself back, this is like Nora-levels of addiction but not pancakes but more weapons. And cookies.

"I WILL NOT BE DENIED" Ruby thundered with conviction

"YOU WILL BE IF YOU DON'T LET GO OFF THAT DOORFRAME" Weiss retorted in equal volume

"You just care about the costs if I break it" Ruby shot back

"SHUTTUP" she shrieked

"See, you're not denying it!" Ruby pumped her fist in victory in, realising her mistake she wailed as she lost grip of the edge, the hallway drowning out her distress.

Jaune simply stared at the vacant doorway, literally unable to vocalise his thoughts so he slumped back using his pillow as a support and sighed as the ground was completely filled with weapons and other pieces.

'Great' he thought 'Someone's going to have to clean this up'

The door opened again

'Oh for goodness sake, who is it now?' Jaune fumed internally furrowing his brow in disappointment

It was Pyrrha.

"Hey…" She was about to say before her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the mess on the floor

Smile and wave Jaune, smile and wa-OW son of a bitch that cramp was bad

"What happened to the carpet?" She asked warily

Having an utterly unusable throat was a bit of a problem as to how to respond, so he tried to make all sorts of gestures at first and fully accepted the fact that his attempts would turn into a game of charades if it did not work.

Which it did not

"Jaune, maybe try speaking?" she pleaded

Jaune shook his head, gesturing to his throat before shaking his head

"Oh" she voiced in realisation "Sore throat?"

He nodded in confirmation

"I guess all that roaring finally took its toll?" she smiled smugly

He gestured dismissively as if saying 'Yeah laugh it up' to which she chuckled playfully as she sat on the side of his bed

"Umm" Pyrrha tilted her head in thought, before she made a little jump as she took out her sling bag and took out an exercise book and a pen.

"Just write on here and show me" she said before Frisbee-throwing the instruments towards him

Jaune bowed his head in thanks, as he wrote his explanation before tossing the book back at her, he watched as Pyrrha hummed to herself mulling over Jaune's writing before raising her eyes to meet his.

"Well that explains the mess" she smiled wryly before utilising her semblance to neatly fold all of Jaune's weapons and stashing them away in the box.

He nodded slowly as he listed the names his weapons one by one as they slowly returned to their cardboard home, helped stave off the boredom as his partner worked so he let his eyes wander about.

Ren being Ren no one knows where he pops out from, and only now did Jaune realise that he was sitting at the lone study desk over on the left sipping tea as he worked judging on the vigorous scratching sounds he was writing an essay, Jaune knew better than to disturb a fellow man whilst he was in 'The Zone'.

So his gaze wandered elsewhere towards the wall that he had decorated a week prior, he smiled fondly at the photos of his sisters, remembering one of the cards his sisters had written him begging him to write back or contact home. Jaune winced as he reached for his scroll that lay on his bedside table charging

Logging in with minor difficulty he slowly typed up a greeting to sisters before sending, with nothing much to do in his injured state he figured a nap was in order and so he did just that.

Pyrrha smiled as she watched her leader wrap himself up into a bed burrito before turning himself to face the wall, she slowly crept out the door before shutting the door behind her.

Ren being Ren just continued writing away at the study desk.

* * *

Pyrrha sighed as she rested against the wall of the corridor before several sets of eyes stared at her

"Is he asleep?" one of them asked in a hushed tone

"Yes" Pyrrha replied her gaze remained unmoved

"Is the box packed?" another voice asked

Pyrrha nodded

"Excellent" a third voice hissed in approval

"Is Ren distracted?" a fourth voice asked

"He appears so," Pyrrha answered

'The conditions are met, let's go" the first voice yelled

'Operation: Extraction of Jaune's Weapons is GO!' they whispered

The door creaked open with a slight squeak, Ren remained unperturbed continuing his exploits with pen and paper, slowly creeping in the four shadows slowly, comically dragged the box out the door towards the combat arena.

Throwing away their occultist hoods and capes Team RWBY + one, Pyrrha Nikos set to work extracting the contents of Jaune's mailbox onto the front-row desks.

"The plan was a success girl, nice job!" Yang pumped her fist in triumph

"Now let's see what these babies can do!" Ruby grinned in excitement before picking up Friede, and taking the weapon onto the stage.

"You sure this is alright?" Blake asked unsurely as she continued examining Jaune is other weapons

"Its fine we already got our names down for combat practice for the next 2 hours or so" Yang waved off dismissively "We've got plenty of time"

"But we still pretty much stole them from Jaune" Blake reasoned

"Pah he's fine" Yang waved off again "Besides Ruby can vouch for us, right?"

"Mhm!" Ruby nodded quickly "Jaune gave us the OK!"

"If you say so" Blake sighed as she handled a crude curved sword, a strange wooden pole fastened with rope and metal parts was hooked to its handle.

"Sooo Pyrrha?" Ruby asked from the stage

"Yes Ruby?" the redheaded champion answered

"How did Jaune use these?" she asked as she lifted the main Scythe of Friede and its accompanying shorter scythe handle.

"If I remember correctly" Pyrrha said as she stepped up onto the stage "He did something like this with it" fumbling with the shorter pole before a blade of pure Ice dust shot out nearly poking out Ruby's eye.

"Eep!" she yelped in surprise falling onto her bottom

"Oh my god I'm so sorry Ruby!" Pyrrha apologised

"It's fine!" she smiled but gestured to continue, "So how'd he use it?"

"Well" Cereal girl hummed in thought taking up both scythes, she slowly tried to replicate the Elfriede Stance swinging the scythes experimentally jogging her memory before she kind of got the combo going swinging the double scythes nearly as fluidly as Jaune did.

"Wow" Ruby squealed, "That was so cool!"

Pyrrha blushed from the praise but shook her head

"Jaune could do it a lot faster and more fluently than I did just then" Pyrrha said

"Well he has used it more often than you" Yang offered "still that was pretty _cool_ "

"Dammit Yang!" Weiss yelled from across the room

"Aww Weiss don't give her the _cold_ shoulder," Ruby continued

"NOT YOU TOO RUBY!" Weiss gaped dramatically

Pyrrha giggled at the exchange, the Mistral Champion stepped off the arena switching off the shorter-scythe before returning them to Ruby, and then she just started swinging them about randomly shouting stereotypical Martial Arts film sound effects.

Blake started taking experimental swings with the Nagamaki that she had seen before, the large handle was off-putting at first due to its lack of flexibility compared to her machete, but the fluidity of simple strikes was quite notable and the ease to achieve power in each strike was menacing indeed, despite its length and weight, in motion it felt like nothing at all, the edge of the weapon felt as though slicing through even air was second nature.

"What the heck is this?" Yang exclaimed as she lifted a sword out of a literal crude slab of stone

"Umm a sword that turns into a Warhammer?" Weiss offered sarcastically

"Funny Ice Queen" Yang shot back snidely before slotting the sword back into the stone scabbard the stuck out of the hammer head

'Kirkhammer' Ruby read aloud but as she tried to look on the other side for anything else, she was surprised to see strange script that spanned several lines, it was intriguing too look at but held no function it seemed. She did take note however, of the similarity of the swords' features when compared to Farron and Artorias, perhaps they were related?

"Some wacky things he's got here, I mean look at this" Yang squawked as she pulled out a tall staff, but the material was too glossy to be considered conventional weapon material. To the touch felt more like living flesh, its design was rippled and twisted with a cruel tooth shaped tip, but by appearance alone it didn't seem capable for melee purposes, scratched faintly on the handle was another strange name, Oceiros.

Ruby grunted loudly as she dragged a two set piece of weapons, a gigantic shield with numerous ridges that met unto an apex point paired with a crude heavy axe taller than Ruby in height, a cross piece sat at the top and the wedge shaped blade would occasionally spark with energy. It even had a matching set of armour wrapped up nicely inside the shield.

Weiss had moved farther away, laid out before her was another paired weapon, it consisted of a small short sword and a larger sabre both adorned with knuckle guards and a circular hilt it seemed the dual swords would be stuck together from end to end resulting in an elegant twin-blade, how the nerdy Jaune was able to use such a thing eluded her but she couldn't help but admire his appreciation for more 'elegant' weapons, however a faint metallic smell could be detected to those observant enough which put the Schnee Heiress off in the back of her mind, the name of the set was Maria.

"You guys remember the fight at the docks?" Yang asked aloud, to which they all nodded

"Any of you notice how that one sword of his glowed?" she confessed

"And this is relevant how?" Weiss asked

"I did notice it" Blake nodded in agreement "And the damage it dealt to that umbrella lady, I've never seen dust pierce through Aura like that ever"

"Makes you wonder how these things were made huh?" Yang grunted making experimental swings with the Kirk hammer and frowned at the overwhelming weight of it.

Pyrrha was more reserved when it came to handling Jaune's gear partly because she was afraid that she might damage it in some way or form, and recalling the night when he received this delivery it was obvious that these weapons were intimately connected to her friend, correction partner she added with a slight grin.

Alas, curiosity took over as she pulled out a sword and shield set, comparatively smaller to her Milo and Akuou, but shared a similar design, a gladius and buckler. Very short range but intricately decorated with gold and bronze elements, the colour scheme would have matched perfectly with her combat attire if it were not so laughably small.

Taking them In hand, she began performing her usual fighting techniques mentally noting the surprising weight in the items, setting them aside she moved onto a bleached yellow polearm. The entire weapon was cracked and scaled in places the grip fastened with much worn leather and strips of red cloth despite its obvious wear and tear the bladed end was of great intrigue. She could only describe it as a 'sword-spear' a third of the whole weapon's length was dedicated to a long broad blade, when she held it a slight buzzing sensation could be felt in her palms that spread into her forearms and biceps it was a tingly sensation that put her off slightly, but it fascinated her nonetheless.

She suddenly recoiled in surprise and dropped the weapon with a dull 'clang!' as several surges of electricity ran up and down the whole weapon

'EEEEEK!' She yelped rubbing her arms vigorously to alleviate the pins and needle sensations that lingered in her arms.

Her friends turned to the source of the commotion, with raised brows on each of their faces

'Hehehehe, don't worry about me nothing crazy happened' she waved off laughing awkwardly as she bent over to pick up the sword-spear, shrugging the others continuing to browse and play with whatever they could get their hands on.

'Jaune I'm so sorry' She winced internally as she delicately laid the weapon on the table, continually looking over to see if any more cracks had formed on the admittedly very battered looking weapon, her fussing was interrupted as Ruby spoke aloud.

"After a thorough analyzation of the goods" Ruby cut in a failure of a business-like tone "We should totally have a mock battle with these babies!" squealing as she claimed a large scythe, the handle was made from twisted wood with the metallic blade blending effortlessly, powder snow gently drifting off of the blade, its name was Priscilla

Yang grinned "Sounds good to me!" claiming a pair of molten gauntlet, veins of glowing heat spider webbed about the knuckles but flared out into branch like protrusions that crawled along her forearms the gauntlets would pulse with life when she smashed her fists together, sending sparks and smoke wafting around her.

'Why do I even bother?' Weiss grumbled to herself, ascending onto the arena platform with Maria

"It was bound to happen Weiss, let's be honest they are interesting weapons" Blake shrugged to her companion settling on Alonne without hesitation and ascending to the arena platform taking her position.

"Sooo… how are we gonna do this?" Yang asked eagerly

"A free-for-all I guess?" Ruby suggested

"Very well then" Weiss hummed as she separated the components of Maria before taking up a stance

"Someone's eager" The blonde beauty commented

Weiss scoffed "We came here for a reason Yang; it'd be stupid to waste our allotted time"

Blake nodded despite the slight scowl on her face "Agreed"

Taking their positions in an impromptu square facing the middle, Team RWBY stood silent their eyes switching back and forth to those in front and to the sides of them. Pyrrha gripped the sword-spear tightly twisting and turning the weapon in her grip warily

Then with an uncharacteristically shrill battlecry Blake of all people charged at Yang, Alonne raised high she slammed the lengthy blade onto her, Yang being the person she is shouldered the blow with her raised fists sending out a plume of flames and lingering sparks from the point of contact.

Bringing her guard up Yang aimed a series of punches accentuated by kicks now and then but were parried surprisingly well by Blake, who was utilising Alonne's long handle to block as many strikes as she could.

Weiss and Ruby were engaged in their own duel, Ruby being so used to having Crescent Rose and its gun form she fumbled with the more traditional scythe using it to block and parry but over-swung or miss-interpreted the speed and weight of Priscilla at times. Leaving her open for Weiss to punish thoroughly with her sabre and dagger combo, but unperturbed Ruby continuously persevered and began to match Weiss' speed by range and fluidity of her movements, the momentum of each swing slowly deteriorating the heiress' form being forced to dodge and weave away from the wide arcs of Priscilla and was punished by a hack at her torso by the cruel blade if she moved too close.

Both heated by combat, they lunged at each other once more, a flurry of white and red too juxtaposing schemes unleashing flashes of speed, steel and colour, Ruby exercised a double diagonal slice movement aimed at Weiss' sides to which Weiss flashed away before rushing at her with such speed that Ruby was unable to defend herself against numerous jabs, slashes and flourishes of Maria's edge sending Ruby skidding away from her opponent.

"Not bad Weiss" Ruby chirped "But I'm not through yet"

"And to you as well, Ruby" the Schnee replied levelling her sabre to point at Ruby challengingly

Pushing off the wall, the two engaged once more in their dance of steel once more.

With Yang and Blake, it had been a battle of strength and skill, Blake's skill with a restricting weapon such as Alonne certainly put a disadvantage against her in mobility compared to Yang who took the easy route and picked the weapons from Jaune's stash that best resembled her shotgun gauntlets, Lazy.

Blake huffed blowing a stray strand of hair out of her way as she spun away from a lunge made by Yang, missing the haymaker Blake followed with a stab the force of the weapon's tip into Yang's back sent her rolling across the ground and into Weiss' legs sending their respective dueller into disarray, picking herself up quickly and ignoring the pointed glare from her teammate she grinned in excitement sprinting towards Blake as smoke and embers littered the air behind her.

The cat Faunus' amber eyes narrowed in anticipation, Yang was never good at subtlety she mused before sliding away from a mighty right hook making an upward slash before spinning and catching the blonde brawler in the side with the Nagamaki. Staggered by the force of the blow Yang was helpless due to her lack of Poi-I mean Hyper-gah strong stance to centre herself again to retaliate and received a roundhouse kick across her cheek, sending her reeling away.

Satisfied with her momentary victory her Faunus ears detected a humming and crackling sound in the air and instinctively ducked her eyes strained upward as if in slow motion watched as The Nameless King's blade came sweeping over. Drawing her weapon to her hip, she retaliated using her semblance summoning a clone of herself to intercept the strike before it could finish. Blake followed up by lashing out with Alonne catching the sword-spears owner in the chest but was intercepted by a well-fortified block with the grip following through with a two-handed thrust, which was also parried by Pyrrha she worked into a pirouette smoothly evading an incoming lunge from Yang.

The lunge however did bear fruit in that Weiss was struck in the cheek by a brutal fiery punch sending her torpedoing across the arena, but saved herself with a gravity glyph utilising its high propulsion properties and her healthy aura reserves to neutralise her predicament with opposing force. enhancing it with more dust she launched herself directly at her attacker bringing Maria into a cross formation in front of her spinning as she flew and brought her blades across Yang's torso, unperturbed the resilient brawler absorbed the strike with her gauntlets that barely prevented her from taking the brunt of the damage. grinning she cocked her fist and unleashed quick jabs at Weiss' post attack state, vulnerable she used her dagger and sabre in tandem to try to catch her fists as they flew.

In the end it was a wasted effort as Yang's molten fists began to literally punch through Weiss' defence making her grit her teeth and grunt in pain as her Aura shouldered the burden of Yang's punches, switching things up before any more damage could be dealt she unleashed another gravity glyph trapping the Brawler mid-swing before addressing other threats. Backing away just in time as Ruby attempted to rush her with both Friede scythes aimed at her sending streaks of pale blue and white across her vision. Left open Ruby was unable to protect herself from a mighty slash that went from shoulder to hip a jab that made her clutch her stomach as the wind rushed around her and winced as she received a quick double cross from Maria's dagger before Weiss made a quick retreat.

"Wow, these things sure pack a punch" Yang commented "a bit heavier than Ember Celica but dang" whistling in appreciation

"You won't have shotguns anymore though," Weiss, pointed out

"True…." Yang conceded wistfully "but I wouldn't mind some old fashioned fist-fighting with these though"

'I miss Crescent Rose' Ruby pouted as she gripped onto Priscilla the weapon was lighter than her beloved sniper-scythe and was definitely missing the sniper component, her mind however couldn't help but hypothesise ways of adding the beautiful snow effect onto Crescent Rose in some shape or form.

Seizing the opportunity Pyrrha raised the sword-spear high bringing it down onto Blake who used Alonne's grip to halt the blow, it became a contest of strength as the two fought to prevent themselves from being overwhelmed, Pyrrha however proved stronger forcing Blake to backpedal away quickly to prevent herself from being struck by the large polearm.

"I have to admit Blake" Pyrrha confessed "Your form with that weapon is quite remarkable"

Blake silently nodded her thanks raising her weapon high in an oriental battle stance

Pyrrha flinched _'Why was that suddenly so threatening?'_ she asked herself shaking it off quickly her flourished the sword-spear sending lightning idly crackling along the weapon in her own display of intimidation.

Blake stuck first bringing the weapon diagonally across her hip, expecting this the veteran Mistral champion pulled a feint stepping backward at just the right moment before bringing the weapon into a spearfishing grip in both hands before thrusting forward with a burst of aura-enhanced speed. Blake staggered as she attempted to pull a hasty block from the sudden action, swinging the weapon upward Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise as her thumb triggered a hidden button on the grip. A wave of grey vapour and lightning surged from the blade weapon sending Blake sliding across the arena unable to block the gust of electrically enhanced gust of wind.

There was a shocked silence as the rest of team RWBY stared at her in awe, Blake as well was too transfixed on the sudden discovery of the weapon's effect to even voice the pain or the lack of air in her lungs from the force.

"Whoa!" Ruby gaped her eyes sparkling comically as she eyed the sword-spear

"That. Was. Awesome!" Yang yelled throwing her arms up "How'd you do that?"

Pyrrha chuckled in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head cheeks reddening slightly

'While I was fighting, my thumb grazed over something and I pressed on it accidently"

"So Jaune's weapons do have some kind of ranged from," Weiss mused to herself as she lifted Maria up for her to inspect more thoroughly

"I WILL UNLOCK YOUR SECRETS JAUNE'S WEAPONS, COME TO MAMA!" Ruby yelled excitedly leaping off the stadium dramatically before moving over to the discarded delivery box

"Hey, come back you dolt!" Weiss yelled indignantly "We still have a fight to finish"

"No can do Weiss, I have a new mission sent by the Creator himself" Ruby shouted as she began running her hands all over whatever weapons she came across hoping to get some sort of reaction from them.

"Ah well I guess the fight ends here" Yang sighed as she took off the Demon's Fists

Blake frowned slightly as she looked to Alonne, despite the short time she had with Alonne, she felt attached to the unusual weapon and a slight pout adorned her face, to say it was adorable was an understatement.

Weiss grumbled under her breath, sad that she could not experiment with Maria a bit more 'practically', the sabre-dagger combo felt so natural in her hands but never the same as Myrtenaster though, close but just not the same.

The doors that led out into the rest of the school suddenly burst open, Team RWBY and Pyrrha turned quickly to see the rest of JNPR stride through.

"Hey girls!" Nora yelled ecstatically "what cha doing'?"

All movement ceased from that moment.

"Playing around with Jaune's stuff" Yang replied plainly to which the rest of RWBY's heads swivelled stiffly to their offending teammate,

'You TRAITOR!' their eyes seemed to scream

"And you didn't invite ME?" Nora screeched, "Your _**Queen**_ is not amused" huffing before crossing her arms in disapproval

"Hehehehe Sorry" Ruby apologised "We umm tried to send you a message onto your scroll a while ago, isn't that right girls?"

They nodded obediently

'Is that so?' The self-confessed Queen mused idly picking at her fingernail, 'well it just so happens that I didn't get one, AT ALL!" whilst she ranted and raved, Pyrrha tried to take the opportunity to tip-toe out the door, Quickly.

"AND YOU" Nora shouted pointing at Pyrrha stopping her dead in her tracks "You're just as guilty. NO. Even more guilty than team RWBY, TRAITOR!"

Cereal girl flinched

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Pyrrha apologised profusely nearly prostrating on the ground to appease the deity of chaos and pancakes

"No excuses, we are joining this little battle royal and you shall not stop us" Nora quipped with a faux noble accent.

Team RWBY were stark white in horror

* * *

 _Meanwhile over in JNPR's dorm room_

 _ **Author's Note- AI AI AIIII~**_

Jaune jolted awake his eyes wide in horror his pupils the size of pinpricks as realisation crossed his mind, never mind the fact that his limbs were on fire and he should not be moving in the first place.

More serious matters needed to be addressed, Nora was mad.

it was a subconscious reminder that came into being over the past few months that he and his team have spent together. Ingrained into him by several instances where school-supplied breakfast did not have pancakes on the menu and Ren was unable to supply, he could still feel phantom pains on top of his post-transformation aches.

Those were dark days were best left forgotten

Quickly to the kitchens! Before instantly regretting it groaning as his limbs refused to listen, more content with staying in the soft confines of his bed burrito state.

And thusly he fell back asleep, he could handle it later. He hoped and prayed in the back of his mind.

Ren could probably whip up some pancakes and she should be fine, right?

Yeah….

She nodded "He's well, just resting in bed; he's going to be in there for a while though"

"I don't know about freaking were-wolf-deer transformations" Nora chuckled "But I've seen enough horror movies to know that it's painful" to which Team RWBY quirked their brows.

"What did Jaune become this time?" Yang asked

"Massive, Lovecraftian, Werewolf" Ren listed off bluntly

"Is it me or is Jaune's semblance becoming more and more….how should I say this?" the blonde brawler hummed

'Strange?' Weiss added

"Thanks Blake" She chirped

"But that was-"Weiss tried to correct

"Semantics" Yang waved off

"Didn't know someone like you could use such big words" Blake smiled slightly

"I have a fine vocabulary, it's a requirement for a god-like joke master such as I myself" Yang grinned crossing her arms over her chest lifting her chin in pride

'Yeah…..right' the others grumbled mentally

Whilst the conversation continued however, Nora had zipped across the room looking for whatever weapon would tickle her fancy, and drew upon the conclusion of a variety of two-handed war hammer befitting of her queenly status. They were The Kirk hammer, Smough, Ledo, Havel, Old Demon King and Morne's Great Hammer.

Nora being a self-confessed intellectual was deep in thought pouring over her options before she came across the most beautiful sight in her entire existence (other than a stack of Ren's pancakes topped with several squares of butter and drowning in syrup).

It was an obsidian black throughout with a faded oak grip that bended back slightly unto a large studded hammerhead. What looked like the hammer of a revolver style pistol jutted behind the hammer's head and the faintest smell of used explosive dust could be detected in the air around it, fittingly printed along the grip was: The Boom Hammer.

'Mama like!' Nora drooled her fingers wriggling rapidly as she seized the weapon in her grasp, finding a twist mechanism in the handle the hammer's face began to heat turning the already charred metal into a threatening orange-red glow and the hammer pulling itself back automatically.

'I am amused by this glorious weapon!' Nora yelled planting the Boomhammer into the ground and striking the pose of a triumphant colonial, she eyed team RWBY eagerly before beckoning them onto the platform.

"Come hither! And fall befall Queen NORA!" she grinned savagely

If they could pale any further they might as well be paper.

* * *

 **Author's Note: AWAKEN MY MASTER**

Jaune sat up from bed, satisfied that he was mentally more awake than before, but was still as useful as a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest in terms of physical state.

Looking for his teammates, Jaune was having serious regrets as he looked to an imaginary outline of where his mail- box used to be, following the bread-crumb trail of discoloured carpet (and cookie crumbs, Ruby Rose forgets to do her washing sometimes) as one would notice from the horrendous chore of vacuuming, he came to a logical conclusion.

Ruby had taken his stuff!

However, there is more. Obviously, a girl of her size could not have done it alone. Sure, she could carry Crescent Rose as well as the supporting factor of milk. However, in the case of his dimensionally transcendental boxed delivery some heavier muscle work would be necessary.

It must have been Yang, smacking his fist against his open palm, to which he sobbed internally as he cradled his hand for 10 minutes.

Alternatively, maybe Pyrrha? No No that could not be possible she could lift the weapons but not the box mentally deleting such a possibility. Nora was a wild card, a factor that is beyond human comprehension, the likelihood of her being a benefactor in their evil schemes is proportionally high, but uncertain, she could be anywhere and everywhere at the same time as long as she was jacked up on pancakes.

Jaune ground his jaw in _mild_ frustration, he specifically said that she could _look_ at them but not take them, those two scheming backstabbers!

And so like a wanderer in a wasteland with crippled limbs on survival mode, Jaune fell out of his bed and began the long process of _limping_ his way following the quest marker of discoloured carpet.

"I'm coming for you Team RWBY!" he rasped shaking his fist comically to accentuate his senility

But then he remembered leaving his scroll under his bed, grumbling to himself he shuffled back to his dorm room.

He considered buying a wheel chair from that moment forth.

Gehrman cosplay would be plausible after all, now if only he could convince Weiss or Pyrrha to be the Doll…


	9. Chapter 7: Bloody Retribution

The Next Day…

In their Dorm room, Team RWBY performed their usual weekend morning routines, Yang sleeping in, Weiss doing homework, Ruby innocently watching the latest trends on the Dustnet while munching on cookies and Blake who had left for the Library to read.

However this would be interrupted, when someone came knocking on their door

Weiss already standing walked over and opened to see Pyrrha Nikos, it was clear something was wrong by her downcast expression and the idle rubbing of her arm.

"Hey Pyrrha what's up?" Ruby called pulling her headphones off us and putting her scroll to sleep

"Jaune wants to see all of us," he said

"What's wrong Pyrrha?" Weiss asked

"It's about yesterday" she answered "round up your team and meet us at the cafeteria, take your time" before walking away

Once they had all readied up to enter the cafeteria, they are minds were abuzz with anxiety.

Jaune sat at their usual spot in the cafeteria eating his breakfast and as they approached he lifted his gaze, and he looked pissed.

The two teams sat together their breakfast had already been eaten sat opposite him their faces downcast as if expecting a harsh scolding; Ruby was the worst offender shaking like a leaf with tears brimming in her eyes.

Jaune was frustrated to say the least, it was painful to him to make him have to talk to them this way, but it was the only way for them to understand that even his friendly easy-going attitude had limits, even more so when anything related to his family was involved.

He sighed as he struggled to maintain his raging emotions from bursting, so he laid back and took breathed deeply before starting, might as well not let them wait any longer.

"Ruby" he called

The poor girl flinched, raising her head in hesitation for what was to come.

"Do you remember what I told you?" he called "What did I say?"

"Y-you said I could look at your weapons," she mumbled

"And what did you do?" he asked again

"I stole them from you and played with them with the rest of my team, including Pyrrha, Nora joined us well," she confessed

Yang remained unperturbed before Jaune swivelled his head to meet her gaze

"And you didn't stop her?" He asked in disbelief but took notice of Yang's nonchalant behaviour thanks to her 'morning mood' "Forget it, you don't even look like you care"

She shrugged, proving his point insulting him even more by continuing to eat

"Don't you _**SHRUG**_ at me!" pointing at her accusingly his voice nearly rising over the rabble of the entire mess hall

The entire table flinched at the sudden rise in Jaune's temper, never had they experienced a furious Arc but it was clear to them that this experience would be very unpleasant and will likely be burned into their memories

Ruby and Pyrrha continued with their downcast expressions, Weiss refused to make eye contact with the seething knight but once could already see the guilty expression on her face.

Blissfully unaware of the state Nora was in she continued to eat her plate of pancakes, before Jaune rounded onto her his eyes glowing a bright blue practically screaming 'You're next'

"And YOU!" he continued to which Nora's blissful expression dropped instantly before turning his head to face Ren, his informant and fellow bro.

"Take away her pancakes," he said coldly and quickly

Ren nodded before deftly swiping Nora's pancakes away from in front of her, walking towards the bin to dump the fluffy goodness into the synthetic void.

" _ **NO!**_ " she yelled in disbelief before dramatically slamming her face into the table devolving into a fit of very convincing sobbing

"Woah there Jaune" Yang commented her attention finally gained "isn't that a bit too harsh?"

"What I want is for everyone to listen to me properly Dammit!" he shouted "And so far none of you even seem to give a crap, so LISTEN UP!"

"Well you have our attention now" she replied sarcastically

"Cut the attitude Yang, you're not helping" Blake said quickly

"Why is there such a fuss surrounding your stuff Jaune, you've seen us and we hardly ever guard our own things like this" Yang tried to reason

"Well I'm not you Yang" Jaune replied simply "I just want to tell you how it is, and tell you that what you all did was wrong and why"

"Go on Jaune we're listening" Pyrrha said glancing at the other culprits for confirmation

Jaune sighed before beginning his explanation

"My whole family worked for to make these 'things' me guys, they spent time and effort every year to help me develop as a Huntsman the way I wanted to" Jaune continued his expression sullen

"These weapons mean much more to me than a simple 'fanaticism' with a game, they're reminders of my time with my sisters who loved me, and a reward from my parents for coming as far as I have now"

There was a collective silence, RWBY and JNPR took the time to digest what Jaune had confessed

Ruby was the first to speak up "I'm sorry Jaune, I'm so sorry for playing with your family's gifts like that, I didn't mean to I was just so excited and everyone else wanted to join in as well"

Jaune sighed cursing himself for his weakness to Ruby's childlike charm, his good-natured self-coming to the fore again.

"It's alright Ruby" he replied "just please ask _properly_ before you go about it"

She nodded obediently

"But that doesn't excuse all of you for that stunt yesterday" he grinned menacingly

"WHAT?!" Weiss, Yang and Nora yelled altogether

Swallowing her pride Yang mumbled "Yeah we're sorry too"

'Sorry'

'Sorry'

'Sorry'

'Sorry'

Jaune grinned sadistically "I don't think that'll be enough"

"WHAT! we said sorry isn't that enough?!" they all pleaded

"I propose mine ultimatum" adjusting a pair of non-existent specks, "I challenge you all to a duel next combat class, no ifs, and no buts"

"And if we deny you that chance?" Weiss asked suspiciously

"I'll find…. _other_ ways to punish you" he smirked cruelly before leaving the table his breakfast already finished.

Team RWBY and JNPR all collectively shuddered

As our 'lovable' blonde knight left the Mess Hall, they once again began to speak amongst themselves.

"Is it me or Jaune is becoming more…sadistic?" Yang asked

"I would agree with you Yang" Pyrrha nodded "But those times were mostly combat situations, never outside of that"

"Still doesn't help the fact that I freakin' shuddered!" the blonde brawler cursed aloud rubbing her arms as if suffering a chill

"I'm sure he's just playing around, he's always awkward around us you could argue that he's finally starting to open up a little," Blake offered

Pyrrha suddenly stiffened up in her seat, her mind quickly embracing such a notion

' _Yes Pyrrha this is a good sign' her mind told her 'he will be yours!'_

Recovering quickly she voiced her approval

"t-that sounds plausible" she nodded closing her eyes briefly

"So what was that just then playful banter?" Weiss asked sarcastically

"Yeah…playful" Ruby shuddered again

"We'll find out later" Blake cut-off "let's head to class"

And with that they left the Mess Hall, paranoid and anxious for what JNPR's leader would use against them later in the day.

* * *

After a day's worth of standard classes, our story's infamous combat classes had arrived and through some negotiating with Ms. Goodwitch and lots of cautionary details, Jaune was able to secure consecutive matches against his weapon thieves, here is the figurative hit list.

Nora

Ruby

Weiss

Yang

Blake

Pyrrha

Not exactly in that, order though, so for all he knew he could be fighting Pyrrha right off the bat, but even so Jaune wasn't going to pull his punches against his friends, _especially when it concerned family_. Therefore, he devised a list of what weapons he would use against them.

Nora- Havel's Great hammer and Shield (The Dark Souls one not the 'Hyper Armour' mess that is Dark Souls 3 :p)

Ruby-Already beaten her with Abyss Watchers, (Be extra sadistic and use Sister Friede)

Weiss- Lady Maria for poetic justice (But he doesn't know that Winter uses something similar)

Yang- Artorias (Yes boys and girls he's here)

Blake- High Lord Wolnir (Featuring _Justice_ from Jojo's Bizarre adventure: Stardust Crusaders)

Pyrrha- The Twin Princes: Lorian the elder and Lothric the younger (I won't spoil the details of how his semblance would work)

Anyway onto the fights.

* * *

Jaune's first opponent stood at the ready

Yang did not pull her punches especially when it came to defending her sister Ruby, this was going to hurt regardless if he won or not.

Moreover, he would rather not have another appointment with the doctor for the third time in the row; taking this fight as seriously as possible, he made his choice from his collection.

Jaune drew on one of his personal favourites from his collection, one that team RWBY was familiar with, Artorias, the massive intricately decorated great sword rested on his shoulder. He too would not be pulling punches even though they are still his friends, he had to make his stand, they crossed the line of his leniency and they would know the extent of how much he _hates_ having his family's pride stamped on.

' _Whoever thou art, please I beg of you stay away, tell the others….I'm sorry' the voice of a young but ghostly male voice spoke in Jaune's mind_

Jaune's eyes darkened to a deep blue his sclera blackened to pitch. He crouched low sweeping the weapon in front grazing a line in the arena in front of him, at once he mark began to glow and eerie moonlight blue before resting the massive weapon across his shoulder in a display of hostility.

Black wisps began to rise from his very shadow latching onto his amour like demonic sinews of blackened flesh that threatened to pull him into the ground; they seemed to tug at his form as the tendrils crawled across him before cocooning him briefly.

The tendrils peeled away and spread like vines cross the ground as they disappeared the abyss was replaced with embroidered ocean blue cloth that started at his neck as a scarf that spread over his shoulder that carried down to a streamlined cape. A cowl in the visage of a bird with a thin black plume obscured his face from view only a pair of glowing blue eyes glared back at Yang.

His armoured had evolved too, becoming aerodynamic and streamlined with his arms and legs making him appear sickeningly thin, a narrow diamond-shaped breastplate decorated his front four straps secured the beautiful piece to his body.

"I hope you're ready Yang" Jaune warned with a hollow echo and flourished his blade the large great sword letting out a plethora of colour and energy in its wake.

"Humph I was born ready!" she grinned preparing to charge at him judging by her runner's stance

"Prepare to be proven wrong then" he challenged crouching lower, the shadow of his visor hiding the glow of his eyes.

Team RWBY and JNPR had already become accustomed to his semblance based transformations by this point and were already on edge by the sheer aura of hostility he was emitting.

'I don't like the look of this fight at all' Pyrrha commented mentally

Yang already primed for combat and fuelled by a conflicting cocktail of anxiety and eagerness made the first move and sprinted towards him firing shogun rounds as she ran, Jaune quickstepped away easily his thin physique allowing the pellets to miss most of his body bringing his great sword across his body to block some pellets that would've hit.

Yang already closed the distance and Jaune caught off-guard was caught in the gut with a mighty punch, recovering quickly he spun out of the way of a follow-up right hook and landed a glancing blow on her front-most leg, resting his weapon on his shoulder once more he braced his legs ready for Yang's next move.

Using the recoil of her shotgun gauntlets to boost herself forward, she primed a haymaker at Jaune's face, before she knew it, Jaune had already performed a forward flip bracing his great sword he slammed the larger weapon onto her head flattening her against the ground with a crunch. Quickly hooking his foot beneath Yang's prone form, he lifted her into the air with all his might before performing a double anti clock-wise spin with Artorias catching her torso twice.

Yang grunted as she landed on her knee, recovering from Jaune's attack and retaliated with a series of quick jabs, Jaune having learnt his lesson from his fight at the docks weeks prior sprung his body backward making as much distance between them as possible, inevitably forcing Yang to give chase.

Swinging Artorias in a cleave Yang caught the weapon with her own gauntlet, her aura enhanced strength preventing her from taking too much damage and with a sadistic grin cocked her free fist backward, making a swift decision Jaune lurched backward evading her incoming attack. Pulling his sword alongside him, he performed another flip grazing his sword against Yang's arms switching hands he drew the sword backward and followed it up with a thrust, breaking her guard.

There was a reason Artorias was said to be unmatched with a great sword, he was practically giving the player a handicap with his broken arm in the actual game being his usual sword arm, and such was not the case for Jaune's semblance incarnation.

Grinning cruelly beneath his cowl he performed a swift brutal snap-kick as Yang made a desperate attempt for offense after her guard was broken, spinning with the momentum he continued with a back-kick to the unprotected Yang in the chest sending her skidding backward.

Bracing his sword-arm and infusing it with aura he thrusted the heavy weapon forward the sheer weight and amplified force sending him sliding across the arena, the force of the charge like a battering ram as Yang was struck in the belly and was sent flying across the arena, her aura shielding her from being impaled.

Barely managing to recover her eyes widened in shock as Jaune leapt into the air impossibly high spinning in mid-air he brought the weapon smashing down on her cracking the arena floor around her, throwing herself sideways to prevent any follow-up moves. She was unable to comprehend when Jaune simply flipped again and slammed her into the floor once more; Jaune charged a mighty swing with the momentum of the flips and swung catching her in her right sending her cartwheeling painfully.

Frustrated and angry at not being able to put up a decent fight, Yang roared in fury charging at Jaune, eyes wide in realisation of Yang's rage mode he leapt backward to once again provide spacing for himself.

With a battlecry she darted with barely comprehensible speed, Jaune had never fought her at this level of power and anxiety began to spread through him.

He yelled as a blow struck his knee with brutal force before a direct shotgun shot tore through his leg unable to vocalise his pain as his chin then took an uppercut sending him staggering back stars swarming across his vision. And with a roar Yang struck him mercilessly blow after blow shredding through his aura quickly, before a final right hand cross flew at him instinctively throwing his arm to shield himself from the blow he could feel his arm absorb the shock of her gauntleted fist sending him staggering away and onto his knees.

Ms. Goodwitch had not called off the fight yet but he could still feel a small portion of Aura present, slamming his fist into the ground, he growled animalistically before slowly standing up again, his stance low to ease the burden on his injured leg.

He lifted his gaze to meet Yang's furious red eyes, his own glowing eyes faded and had until only blackness was visible beneath his cowl.

Yang deciding not to let up her advantage lunged towards him, her eyes promising a painful end to the fight.

Feeling a power well in his core Jaune slammed his very great sword into the earth upheaving a massive chunk of rubble and with using; only one arm slung the concreate-laden weapon over his shoulder

Unleashing an unearthly howl that sent chills up the spines of every student present, he threw the piece of flooring at Yang, forcing Ruby's elder sister to dive away from the impromptu projectile.

'GAWOOOOOOOOOAAAAR!'

His body began spitting inky black and deep blue ooze around himself. The gaps in his armour also began to bleed the toxic ichor profusely; the haze settled around his weapon and dissipated leaving the blade to glow a slight blue hue.

Whilst this occurred a shockwave of eldritch power blasted forth from his display, catching Yang in the midst of her assault damaging her aura greatly and leaving her to slowly pick herself up off the ground.

Jaune roared breaking into a run resembling something more of a drunken charge, Yang bracing herself prepared to fire her shotguns at the right moment, with only a few metres difference she expected him to swing his sword across to which he did, dashing backward she fired off her shotguns to blast herself forward aiming to land a final combo and seal the deal.

Jaune however simply tilted the weapon blocking the punch with the flat of the blade, surprising her again by swiftly slashing her with a backhand swing and rolling away.

Giving chase, Yang aimed her fists once more but her lack of range being her disadvantage was forced to dodge and weave like a boxer to avoid the broad sweeps of Artorias' enhanced edge. Taking advantage of a falter in Jaune's rhythm, she struck swift and hard, in a desperate attempt to avoid himself from taking too much damage he threw his off-arm up to block her fist.

The classroom was filled shouts of shock and horror as they heard bones snap, Jaune's arm hung limply yet his stance and threatening moans told a different story, by sacrificing Aura-reinforcement in his off-hand he was able to take the blow and instead channel the Aura that would've been used to fortify his block into a lethal enhancement for his sword-arm.

Yang's eyes widened in horror, seeing one of her friends' arm sway back and forth in ways it should not, unperturbed the cowled knight simply glanced at it before charging towards her. Shocking the class further.

Glynda Goodwitch was mortified by Jaune's move. As much as she was impressed by Jaune's aura control such recklessness needed to be handled swiftly, but was surprised to see Jaune waving his hand, as if saying he is fine.

'Sorry Doc, and sorry Ms. Goodwitch' Jaune thought as he glanced at his useless arm before rushing forward to continue the fight, it was strange being unable to feel his arm the adrenaline and Abyssal powers of his semblance working to keep his ability to fight at optimal levels despite being down one limb.

Heaving with all his might Jaune, roared swinging the mighty blade forth slashing Yang thrice diagonally in quick succession performing another signature flip-smash to send her sliding away from him. in an attempt to reply Yang threw her fists forward aiming a punch at his upper torso, but with impossible agility twisted his body in a corkscrew and letting Artorias extend in his grasp punished the blonde brawler with a backhanded swing from Artorias to her cheek and finishing off with a spinning kick to her back.

Glancing at the scoreboard, the students couldn't help but be impressed at Jaune's ability to turn the tide in this fight with only a smidge of aura above the red zone he was able to level and outplay Yang in speed and agility coupled with an undoubtedly heavy weapon made for near-unfair levels of ability compared to her.

Circling each other slowly and with Jaune's ability to maintain Artorias' own rage mode his armour dissipated slightly, his cowl had disappeared leaving Jaune's face, wisps of black smoke swam across his face, his expression clearly read exhaustion he was sweating and panting. His semblances physically enhancing properties fading in effectiveness and his sword-arm strained to hold Artorias aloft, despite his state one could note that defiant anger allowed him to remain standing.

It would only take one punch to finish him off, but her inner thoughts gnawed at her. This fighting style was brutal, quick and punishing. It was unpredictable using feints and delayed strikes to throw off the rhythm of the fight, it made her act impulsively and he would keep punishing and punishing.

However, his ability to power through so many attacks was more exhausting to him, if she could land a solid blow anywhere, and then victory would be hers.

Rocketing forward one final time she threw a final right hook aimed at Jaune's face, it would be a knockout blow.

 _ **THOOM**_

A sudden explosive force swatted Yang's punch awry, her eyes widened to see Jaune who had simply swatted away her fist with his _broken_ arm!

In reality, Jaune had focused his aura-reserves to focus around his limb, reinforcing rather than repairing to withstand the strike.

In her shock, the greater repelling force of Jaune's arm sent a she was unable to move her arms to block as she felt Artorias' blade slammed against her ribs driving her into the ground before a second slam sent her rolling away into heap metres away.

The classroom sat silent in shocked silence and horror, Yang one of the top fighters, second to Pyrrha in the rankings among the first years was defeated by the former failure of a Huntsman, Jaune. More experienced students took note of risky Aura manipulation due to how low it was, but the mastery and control was what surprised all of them.

'Why didn't he use it before?' most of them would ask

The blonde 'knight' stood metres away crouched with his back to her, he stared at her for a moment as he snapped his broken arm eliciting winces and whines from the crowd.

Drawing Artorias over his shoulder, he stood up slowly and limped off the arena back to his seat with his friends and teammates the final vestiges of the Knight of Gwyn's apparel fading into black wisps.

The siren signalled the end of the match her ear ringing from the final blow, she was surprised to feel sets of arms hauling her to her feet, on unsteady legs she turned her head to see her teammates, trusting in them she let herself be carried back to her seat next to Jaune.

The two of them shared a tired smile, and gave each other a tired fist-bump

"Good fight, I guess I deserved that' Yang grumbled

"Yes, Yes you did" Jaune chuckled before coughing slightly "But at least you got the message now"

RWB and NPR once again were entranced by his display of swordsmanship, it appeared sloppy considering his damaged limb but the speed and strength of each successful blow was well timed and perfected as if it were muscle memory. Nevertheless, when he sacrificed his limb to fulfil his requirements their awe turned to solemn recognition, he would give life and limb for his family.

They had to admit however, the sword-flip move was cool but they would not say it aloud, as they were going to be the recipients of something similar or greater in pain, very very soon.

"Another impressive display from Yang and Jaune, however I must reprimand Mr. Arc for that risky use of Aura control Jaune and I recommend you do not repeat such actions again in future, for your sake and your teammates" Ms. Goodwitch commented "Such strategies are outlawed in the Vytal Tournament"

"Sorry Ms. Goodwitch" Jaune nodded in acceptance of his brazen display, a drained expression on his face.

He clutched his arm, still tender after being broken back into place his teeth grit as burning pins and needles swarmed his recently broken arm, his aura pouring back to repair duty.

"Mr. Ren should he need it could you please escort Jaune Arc to the Infirmary" she added with a smile

Lie Ren nodded dutifully and with his signature blank expression

Jaune paled in horror "Not the infirmary, anywhere but there" he muttered to himself as if it were a mantra covering his ears and rocking back and forth slightly in his chair.

Yang laughed

'Since Jaune is unable to fight until his arm recovers we shall have another pair duel instead of our champion vs. challenger setup' Glynda declared with a flourish of her riding crop.

'Next fighters: Melanie Malachite and Sky Lark to the arena with your weapons please!'

* * *

Jaune adjusted his grip on his new selection of weapons this time, it would be his final battle for the day, and it was between him and Weiss Schnee his initial 'crush' in his initial arrival to Beacon.

With methodical grace, he twisted and pulled apart the components for 'Lady Maria' the sabre-dagger set glinting cold and cruelly despite the warm atmosphere of the overhead lights.

Jaune being the fan of cosplay he is, had worn a fanciful duellist's coat and hat complete with dress shirt and gold embroidered collar, but was deeply contrasted by the worn nature of the leather garb in itself numerous stitches and pads indicating wear in tear from battle.

Weiss unperturbed by his display took up a fencer's pose, side-on her rapier levelled to her opponent's neck-level.

They circled each other slowly both their hands gripped tightly around their weapons, gazes hard and determined.

His hand idly switched the grips of his dagger from standard to a backward grip as their positions changed on the battlefield; his semblance began to adapt to Lady Maria's style and by extension a veteran hunter's level of skill.

From their distance, no one could hear the click of Myrtenaster revolving barrel switch to wind dust; Weiss' muscles coiled preparing to lunge.

Jaune however _could_ hear even the minutest of details, his Semblance enhancing all basic senses further than standard Aura reinforcement; however, he did not react to this newfound knowledge. A hunter must lure his prey after all.

Weiss' expression hardened and at the last moment, she lunged a glyph rapidly speeding her forward in a sharp sudden burst.

Jaune hardened his stance, time registering to him slower as he made his move.

He dashed to the side just before Myrtenaster could skewer him his body fading into nothingness for a moment as the art of Quickening took effect reappearing a mere two metres from his starting point he deftly drew a small pistol from within his coat, the side-by-side barrels spinning to life before clicking into place and with a satisfied smile, pulled the trigger.

With precision equal to that of a professional sniper both bullets struck the very blade of the Rapier, and packing a punch uncharacteristic of a flimsy clockwork looking weapon sent her reeling from the force.

Seizing the opportunity with haste, he drew his empty hand backward and plunged it into Weiss' chest her Aura taking a massive amount of damage.

The heiress' breath hitched as her body registered being struck and before she could question what was going on she saw Jaune lean forward closely by her ear, still shocked from the initial blow she could not hear what he said.

Then as though something was ripped from her and was shoved roughly onto the ground.

As her senses regained she could hear a voice, female and tinged with a slight accent she had never heard before, it sent shivers down her spine as it spoke in her mind it was so soothing yet scathing at the same time.

' _Oh I know very well. How the secrets beckon to you so sweetly'_

' _Only and honest death will cure you know, Liberate you from your wild curiosity'_

Still dazed she stood up to her feet, levelling Myrtenaster once more her vision swimming as her Aura quickly assessed her damage.

Those watching from the sidelines gaped as Jaune literally stole the Aura from Weiss his own meter on-screen rising into the 130% parameter.

Her ears heard a distinct clang; she raised her head quickly remembering she was still in a fight

She saw Jaune standing before her, Lady Maria in its split from once more his arms lay at his sides as if beckoning her to strike him again, his gaze was downcast his hat obscuring his dulled blue eyes from view, he began to approach her slowly.

As if by instinct she slowly moved back in response, and the Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company did not know why.


	10. Chapter 8: Blood Boil

Chapter 8:

The Blood Boil

Jaune approached Weiss slowly his worn leather boots making audible scuffling noises, the room had drawn quiet.

Watching each new rendition Jaune brought to combat class was like watching an action movie, new extravagant moves that were impossible for the average person to perform, there was a certain grace and a brutality to Jaune's move sets if one were to examine him closely.

And Lady Maria is no different, her name is naught but one that strikes fear and awe to those who knew her, the twin blades the conductor's baton to an orchestra of blood, fire and steel and her voice like silk tinged with a cold sweetness, a flavoured poison.

Weiss' brow furrowed as she gripped onto Myrtenaster tightly and yet her wrist shook, her opponent's eyes completely unseen, it was if she were fighting an advanced Atlesian android, those twin blades they reminded her of her sister, but the worn, bloodied look to them continued to add to her distress.

Flourishing them Jaune lunged the sound of his boots the only noise as the singing of steel carried over it.

Swiping upward with the sabre Jaune grunted lightly as his weapon clashed with Weiss' rapier they both drew back quickly before lunging and clashing again, Weiss attempted to take control of this duel initiating first with a flurry of jabs.

Jaune answered in kind with deft parries and blocks with the dagger half of the Rakuyo, Weiss had developed her own theory on Jaune's stratagem, he would control the fight in hindsight he would throw off the 'rhythm' of a fight of his own volition, and it was an advanced form of combat theory.

'It seems Jaune has had some higher grade combat tutoring compared to others' Weiss thought as she continued her assault.

'But I will not grant him the same luxury, I will lead this dance'

With a heave of her sword-arm the both of them recoiled from Weiss' explosion of force, a gravity glyph had been used beneath them and timed it at the right moment to unleash a burst of force just as she used her own physical might to overpower Jaune.

With relentless disciplined strikes she struck Jaune cleanly, his dagger arm struggling to keep up with her own speed from a speed glyph enhancement.

Jaune's senses were abuzz with activity, the whistling of Myrtenaster whistling through the air gave guidance to Jaune as he attempted to keep up with her assault, but her new tactic of near relentless but not reckless aggression was throwing him off.

He growled as his excess aura began to chip away from each swift blow, he would need to either parry or simply strafe away from her as quickly as possible, he could not move away however instead he would just be continuously pursued with her speed glyphs.

However like most combatants they abided by the natural rhythm of attacks like a musician who follows the score of his/her music, meaning there was always a pattern that could be exploited, unless his opponent was a complete madman in which case Weiss Schnee was most certainly not

Gripping his dagger in hand with a hunter's swiftness he deflected Weiss' rapier, not with great force like with Yang's case, this action was not wasteful it was a simple flick and it got the job done.

Retaliating with equal speed he began slashing and jabbing at Weiss repeatedly using the Quickening effect to great effect, his flashes in and out of visibility forcing Weiss' mind to work harder, it was erratic and out of rhythm just as he liked it.

Weiss pushed herself away with a short blink of movement another projected speed glyph making room between the two of them, cursing to herself for allowing Jaune to regain control of the fight.

They circled once more, Jaune's blades still held out to his sides, a display meant to feign arrogance or carelessness.

Weiss' was slightly unnerved by the slight smell of blood that tinged the air, and neither of them were that injured, her thoughts instantly locked onto those antiquated weapons within her opponent's hands.

They lunged at each other once more, their blades clashing sparks blasting outward from the points of contact, the two Huntsmen traded blows it was a contest of speed and accuracy rather than raw power the better only managing to land light nicks upon each other's Aura

Jaune raised both blades aiming for an overhead attack, Weiss readied her rapier but it was made too early through the heat of battle her eagerness and anticipation of a fast furious assault was used for Jaune's benefit, and had intentionally delayed the attack, it was a feint.

Jabbing her with Maria's dagger and slashing at her midriff he continued by pirouetting with both blades outward unleashing a punishing cleave with both weapons, a deep ripping noise signalling that the blades had dealt significant damage

Weiss yelped in pain as she staggered backward, quickly composing herself she let her hand drift behind her back as she took up a fencer's pose lunging with the help of a glyph she made another series of thrusts to which Jaune Quickened away from drawing his repeating pistol sneaking in shots at her attempts to lunge and close the gap.

Weiss grit her teeth, the heiress continued to lunge and engage Jaune in short bouts of clashing steel, he denied her the opportunity to control the space using his superior speed and dexterity as bonuses from Lady Maria's mimicry to weave his way out of the Schnee Heiress' assaults, parrying what blows managed to reach far enough and shooting her with his repeating pistol.

Fleeing from her no longer, Jaune lunged to meet her just as Weiss made her own advance the two clashed with a resounding shriek of blade grinding against blade, Jaune however withdrew his off-hand a void of blackness filled with blips of light like a miniature nebula formed in the palm of his hand.

Thrusting it forward a mass of pale fleshy tendrils lurched from the astral projection the mass of writhing limbs sending the heiress to the floor whilst Jaune shivered slightly paralysed from the after-effects from utilising the Augur of Ebrietas.

Capitalising on his moment of weakness Weiss unleashed a leaping kick to our blonde hunter's cheek knocking him down

'Did I deserve that?' he rubbed his cheek

'Hmph' was the heiress' only response and accentuated her frustration by cutting their dialogue short as she lunged

Parrying what was to be the beginning of a thrust from the Schnee, Jaune quickly reattached his dagger to the pommel of its sabre counterpart levelling the weapon as he took up a stance he thrust the combined weapons forward the long curved edge struck Weiss' chest staggering her before a surge of blood fired from the tip of the sword like a bullet the sheer force of it sending Weiss sliding across the arena.

Weiss recovered quickly and was about to lunge once more but halted herself at the last moment as she watched Jaune perform something peculiar.

He held his dagger and sabre gripping them tightly before bringing them upward over his chest.

SCHLIK

With a cruel ripping motion Jaune withdrew the stained red steel from his body, blood thick like tar dripped from the cruel edges of Lady Maria some dropping onto the floor.

Loud gasps filled the arena as onlookers cringed and squirmed, uncomfortable with the sight of so much blood, even more disturbing was the apathetic stare from Jaune unaffected by the fact that he had stabbed himself through.

Many whispered amongst themselves, others looking away from the abhorrent display one unfortunate bunny girl excused herself from the classroom her face quickly turning green.

Weiss' jaw dropped as the blood rippled and writhed as it clung to the weapons adding a murderous black-red effect to his swords.

Sheathing his weapon onto his hip Jaune drew backward before slicing at the air like an eastern warrior.

Blood gathered at the edge of the weapon shooting outward as an extension of the weapon Weiss was struck thrice as Jaune swung the impromptu katana back and forth the blood blade catching Weiss in the torso before he thrust the weapon forward again firing a 'blood' lance at Weiss.

'It's like the Frayed blade but not made of glass' Jaune mused

'No BAD Jaune!' he mentally slapped himself 'keep your head in the game'

Weiss was dazed from the sudden counter-attack, the sudden range advantage from Jaune's blood manipulation forcing the Heiress to further reassess the strength of the blonde.

Shakily getting to her feet Weiss proceeded to dive roll and dash away from Jaune's length enhanced blade, the blood still in liquid form congealed as Jaune separated his Trick weapons the dagger and sabre equalling in length from the sanguine enhancements.

Grinning confidently Jaune proceeded to swipe and swing the Rakuyo from afar letting the crimson edges to their bloody work forcing Weiss on the defensive, despite her speed from Aura and last second boosts from Glyphs Weiss' dodging capabilities could only go so far, and was forced to attempt to parry the liquid blades with no success.

She yelped as blood spattered across her eyes as Myrtenaster cut through the faux steel, in her moment of weakness Jaune drew the weapons close to his chest spinning like a merry-go-round of gore, leather and steel Weiss' rapier struggled against the whirling cyclone her mind too much of a chaotic mess to formulate a potent glyph Jaune wrenched Myrtenaster away as he pulled Lady Maria outward into an 'X' shaped slash.

Jaune leaned forward bringing the weapons across his body once more with a lifeless amoral stare he brought his weapons out again and spun launching Weiss into the air with him at the height of his ascent Jaune glared at the Schnee his eyes changing from a righteous blue to a murderous red.

Weiss' fight or flight response kicked in but was helpless watching him bring Lady Maria over his shoulder the weapons almost 'fusing' together before dredging them into Weiss' form as they crashed back down onto the arena floor together in a shower of blood.

Weiss struggled to her feet raising her rapier but her grip quivered and faltered her eyes wide in shock as her mind registered the thick sickening stench of blood that clung to her clothes.

That was no semblance projection this was real, this blood was Jaune's.

Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as this fact registered

Out of the cloud of viscera Jaune lunged his eyes screaming bloody murder, the Rakuyo bound together in its twin blade configuration. taking inspiration from the twin-blade weapons from Dark souls 2 he spun the weapon furiously landing numerous blows against Weiss' weakened form finishing his flurry with a sweep the single edged weapon dug into her dress as her Aura heaved from the final crescendo

With a click and a snap of the Rakuyo Jaune dashed after her retreating form, sheathing the sabre at his side if one looked closely Jaune had run his hand along the scabbard with a scrap of paper that had been withdrawn from within the sleeve of his duelling jacket, a fleeting movement but a slight glow emanated from within the weapon's leather binding.

Drawing himself into a low eastern warrior stance he drew the weapon swiftly and precisely

Weiss' eyes widened in horror as the extended blade set alight with fire and said blade was quickly making its way towards her way

She fended off the attack with a hasty gravity glyph and was expecting her opponent to follow up with a thrust, setting another defensive wall glyph in front of her just as the edge of Lady Maria crept up to her chest.

'I give!' Weiss yelled aloud 'I surrender'

Jaune withdrew his weapon from the pierced wall glyph, sheathing his dagger and sabre at his hip in acknowledgement of her concede to the fight, slumping backward onto his knees from exhaustion his complexion noticeably paler.

Glynda nodded announcing her surrender and for the next randomised set of opponents to prepare

As the two were dismissed from the arena floor, Weiss spoke up

"I'm….sorry"

Jaune chuckled awkwardly "It's alright now, at least the message got through to you, surprisingly faster than Yang" he admitted

She turned on him her brow twitching violently

"What do you mean, _surprisingly?"_

"W-well I-I mean" he stuttered quickly raising his arms instinctively for self-defence, let it be known that hell hath no fury like a Schnee scorned.

The Schnee Heiress raised her clenched fist, and Jaune quivered beneath her gaze promising pain unending, all their friends could do was silently pray for their friend's survival

Thank goodness Goodwitch was there to prevent our heir of fire from returning to the proverbial Bonfire, but that didn't stop the heiress from exacting some semblance of justice

Jaune would spend the rest of his life with a mild case of gynophobia, and would twitch at the sight of women, particularly white haired ones and Red haired ones too.

* * *

Later that day

To say that lunchtime conversations that very same day would be an understatement, particularly with Weiss and Yang being both uncharacteristically shy towards our blonde goofball, their collectives prides in high combat class achievements being slightly humbled by the Heir of Fire.

Unfortunately Yang took the defeat harder than most.

"I still can't believe you broke your arm in that fight!" Yang complained childishly "and Goodwitch let you off lightly too, I should've won from that!"

"It was all a mind game wasn't it!" Weiss yelled in accusation "That wasn't real blood wasn't it? It was an illusion ability to throw me off, Answer me this instant!"

Jaune shielded himself from view hiding behind the shadow of his fellow male teammate scrunching into himself as he took hasty nibbles from his sandwich

'I must admit Jaune, these 'fighting' styles of yours are proving to be just as dangerous to yourself as well as towards your opponents' Ren commented idly poking at his salad "I wouldn't be surprised if the Academy doctor blacklisted you for continuous self-mutilation"

Jaune admitted " I guess I went a bit overboard with my choices, those two characters I copied were popularly difficult opponent's in-game, Sorry"

Ren smiled turning to address his fellow (only) man on among their little group

"You shouldn't apologise Jaune, your semblance has only been active for a relatively short amount of time, all of us have trained and learned to use our abilities in combat when we were a few years younger, and in fact you should explore this semblance of yours as much as possible"

Pyrrha too smiled obviously listening in on their little exchange and decided to pitch in her own two cents

"I agree with Ren, it took us all some time to adjust ourselves to our unique abilities experimenting with it even outside combat classes, that being said"

She continued

"You mustn't become too reliant on the bonuses offered by your unique abilities too much, as you saw with Yang, your mimicry that time cost you a great deal of stamina and nearly cost you the match by pumping too much effort in maintaining that semblances bolstering effect, it took a miracle for you to block that final punch from Yang and end the match with that sword thrust"

"This is going somewhere isn't it?" Jaune asked rhetorically

"And that's why I propose some more _exercises_ in the afternoon!" the red-haired champion finished off completely ignoring Jaune's attempt at a rebuttal

Jaune paled slightly remembering his promise a week or so ago about continuing training with Crocea Mors more rigorously whenever their sessions came up and with the random occurrences following he never made up for that lost time.

He swore he could see a slight grin on Pyrrha's face, one just vaguely hiding malicious intent

"And no running away this time" she added almost a little too sweetly "Self-harm is also out of the question as well"

' _I think I peed a little'_ he thought

The other patrons at the table had their thoughts on other things

'Wow'

'Blunt, like every pencil I owned in pre-school, good on you Pyrrha confidence is key'

'Didn't expect you to be so forward'

'Finally!'

'If Jaune doesn't get the hint I swear to God.'

Among other exclamations of elation, our poor protagonist slumped in his seat dreading every passing minute before classes ended for the day

'Please be gentle' he whispered to himself as he readied his grip on Crocea Mors

'What was that Jaune?' Pyrrha called from afar

'Nothing~!' he answered back a little too hastily

'If you say so' the champion sang back, twirling her spear in hand as she readied Akouo in her opposite arm

Whereas Jaune just fumbled uselessly with his sword and shield combo, raising his eyes to meet Pyrrha's he bit back a scream of utter terror as his partner approached him slowly an evil grin slowly stretching across her face.

'Don't worry Jaune' she sang 'I promise I won't be too rough'

' _Wait she actually heard me?! SHIT'_ he screamed backpedalling quickly, hiding behind his shield

'Come now Jaune, I taught you better than that!' closing the distance quickly before slapping the back of his thigh sharply eliciting a high pitched yelp of surprise scampering backward like a startled rabbit he made it his goal to put as much distance between him and his 'trainer' as far as possible.

'Now to make up for your past few weeks of sword and shield abstinence, we'll be going all out today, tomorrow and very much into next week' Pyrrha said as her shadow began to loom over Jaune's cowering form.

Jaune quivered, mumbling incomprehensible prayers as _she_ approached

Spear twirling in hand Pyrrha's pace began to pick up, from a leisurely stroll to lengthy strides gliding towards our unfortunate protagonist shield in front of her breast and spear at her side, my dear viewers he never stood a chance.

* * *

 **AN: If Jaune were a Shadow of Mordor/War Orc/Uruk (doubt he'd be an Olog-hai anyway)**

 **Jaune Arc**

 **Fiery Machine Commander**

 **Promoted to Huntsman Leader by Ozpin**

 **Strengths:**

 **Immune to Fire**

 **Immune to Execution**

 **Immune to Curse (No Darksign here, at least I hope not)**

 **Blood Brother: Lie Ren**

 **Devoted Master**

 **Possessive Master**

 **Vengeful Master**

 **Enraged by Nevermores**

 **Last Stand**

 **Class Traits: Commander**

 _ **Defender wields a shield capable of blocking frontal attacks and blocking projectile fire (if he were skilled enough to)**_

 _ **Fanatical Gang: Allies become enraged when their leader is attacked (happens a lot)**_

 _ **Bodyguards: Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos**_

 _ **Tribe Bonus:**_

 _ **Dark Tribe: Uses deadly weapon/s to deal a series of strikes that must be countered fast**_

 _ **Bonuses:**_

 _ **Grimm Slayer: can execute enemy Grimm (not like there are friendly ones anyway)**_

 _ **Flame Weapon, wields a fiery weapon that can set struck enemies on fire**_

 _ **Gang of Hunters- Leads a group of Hunters**_

 _ **Iron will cannot be dominated (Questionable in the face of Pyrrha Nikos and his own family members)**_

 _ **Thick skinned- Greatly increased Health**_

 _ **Weaknesses:**_

 _ **Dazed by Acrobatics**_

 _ **Dazed by Romantic Advances**_

 _ **Dazed by Nora and Nora things**_

 _ **Sickly: Heavily damaged by Forever Fall Tree Sap and Flying Vehicles**_

 _ **Soft Headed (For REASONS!)**_

 _ **Clumsy**_

 _ **Craven- Flees in Terror when faced with higher level enemies**_

 _ **Terrified of Spiders (Oh wait that's the author)**_

 _ **Fear of Betrayal**_

 _ **(Behind her back) Fear of Pyrrha Nikos**_

 _ **Grimm Fodder- takes increased damage by Grimm Attacks (pretty sure everyone has that one)**_

* * *

A/N

After that quirky little tirade it's time to address the elephant in the room, that being my massive hiatus and for that I am most sincerely sorry for not keeping Heir of Fire on the move and that cliffhanger was a dick move and uncalled for and for that I am sorry again for that, I'm not going to pull a 'this is my first fic' card because that just makes me sound self entitled to less criticism.

An explanation for my hiatus, the reason I failed to update my stories was mostly due to the allure of the freedom of graduating from high school, I spent many days lazing about at home, hitting up Nioh on steam and general procrastination and laziness, a poor excuse and once again I am sorry.

I Hope you Souls/borne fans will be satisfied with Lady Maria of the Astral Clock-tower fight in all it's visceral bloody glory despite this chapter's comparatively short length and I will try and strive to keep writing for you my viewers.

As for the next Soul/borne mimic to come, I am unsure as of the moment but suggestions are always welcome on the reviews, to be honest great story concepts come from a lot of your suggestions, and I am considering creating off-shoot based chapters based off of your content.

Once again thank you for your patience, Sorry for my lengthy disappearance, no this story is most certainly not dead and I shall see you all in the chapter of Heir of Fire

Cheers

Thiriston


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